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1. Seawater desalination derived entirely from ocean biomass

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TA05068K  

   Liu, Xiaojie; Tian, Yanpei; Wu, Yanzi; Caratenuto, Andrew; Chen, Fangqi; Cui, Shuang; DeGiorgis, Joseph A.; Wan, Yinsheng; Zheng, Yi (October 2021, Journal of Materials Chemistry A)

   Solar-driven interfacial evaporation shows great prospects for seawater desalination with its rapid fast evaporation rate and high photothermal conversion efficiency. Here, a sustainable, biodegradable, non-toxic, and highly efficient full ocean biomass-based solar-driven evaporator is reported, which is composed of chitosan (CS) hydrogel as the hydratable skeleton and cuttlefish ink (CI) as the photothermal material. Under solar irradiation, the cuttlefish ink powder harvests solar energy and heats the surrounding water. Simultaneously, the water in the three-dimensional network of chitosan hydrogel is rapidly replenished by the interconnected porous structure and the hydrophilic functional groups attached to the polymer chains. With its enlarged evaporation surface, high solar absorptance, adequate water transportation, good salt drainage, and heat localization, the CI/CS-based evaporator achieves a remarkable evaporation rate of 4.1 kg m −2 h −1 under one sun irradiance (1 kW m −2 ) with high-quality freshwater yields. This full ocean biomass-based evaporator with abundant raw material availability provides new possibilities for an efficient, stable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly solar evaporator with guaranteed water quality. 

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2. Refractive Indices of Biomass Burning Aerosols Obtained from African Biomass Fuels Using RDG Approximation

   https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11010062  

   Sarpong, Emmanuel; Smith, Damon; Pokhrel, Rudra; Fiddler, Marc N.; Bililign, Solomon (January 2020, Atmosphere)

   null (Ed.)

   Biomass burning (BB) aerosols contribute to climate forcing, but much is still unknown about the extent of this forcing, owing partially to the high level of uncertainty regarding BB aerosol optical properties. A key optical parameter is the refractive index (RI), which influences the absorbing and scattering properties of aerosols. This quantity is not measured directly, but it is obtained by fitting the measured scattering cross section and extinction cross section to a theoretical model using the RI as a fitting parameter. We used the Rayleigh–Debye–Gans (RDG) approximation to retrieve the complex RI of freshly emitted BB aerosol from two fuels (eucalyptus and olive) from Africa in the spectral range of 500–580 nm. Experimental measurements were carried out using cavity ring-down spectroscopy to measure extinction over the range of wavelengths of 500–580 nm and nephelometry to measure scattering at three wavelengths of 450, 550, and 700 nm for size-selected BB aerosol particles. The fuels were combusted in a tube furnace at a temperature of 800 °C, which is representative of the flaming stage of burning. Filter samples were collected and imaged using tunneling electron microscopy to obtain information on the morphology and size of the particles, which was used in the RDG calculations. The mean radii of the monomers were 27.8 and 31.5 nm for the eucalyptus and the olive fuels, respectively. The components of the retrieved complex RI were in the range of 1.31 ≤ n ≤ 1.56 and 0.045 ≤ k ≤ 0.468. The real and complex parts of the RI increase with increasing particle mobility diameter. The real part of the RI is lower, and the imaginary part is higher than what was recommended in literature for black carbon generated by propane or field measurements from fires of mixed wood samples. Fuel dependent results from controlled laboratory experiments can be used in climate modeling efforts and to constrain field measurements from biomass burning. 

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3. Size-resolved aerosol emissions from lignocellulosic biomass and biomass constituent pyrolysis under variable dilution temperatures

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2020.105679  

   McLaughlin, Luke P.; Belmont, Erica L. (January 2021, Journal of Aerosol Science)

   null (Ed.)
4. Secondary Brown Carbon Formation From Photooxidation of Furans From Biomass Burning

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104900  

   Joo, T.; Machesky, J. E.; Zeng, L.; Hass‐Mitchell, T.; Weber, R. J.; Gentner, D. R.; Ng, N. L. (January 2024, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract Furans are a major class of volatile organic compounds emitted from biomass burning. Their high reactivity with atmospheric oxidants leads to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), including secondary brown carbon (BrC) that can affect global climate via interactions with solar radiation. Here, we investigate the optical properties and chemical composition of SOA generated via photooxidation of furfural, 2‐methylfuran, and 3‐methylfuran under dry (RH < 5%) and humid (RH ∼ 50%) conditions in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and ammonium sulfate seed aerosol. Dry furfural oxidation has the greatest BrC formation, including reduced nitrogen‐containing organic compounds (NOCs) in SOA, which are dominated by amines and amides formed from reactions between carbonyls and ammonia/ammonium. Based on the products detected, we propose novel formation pathways of NOCs in furfural photooxidation, which can contribute to BrC via accretion reactions during the photochemical aging of biomass burning plumes. 

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5. Emissions From Oxy-Combustion of Raw and Torrefied Biomass

   https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4047330  

   Meng, Xiaoxiao; Rokni, Emad; Zhou, Wei; Qi, Hongliang; Sun, Rui; Levendis, Yiannis A. (December 2020, Journal of Energy Resources Technology)

   Abstract This work assesses the evolution of acid gases from raw and torrefied biomass (distiller’s dried grains with solubles and rice husk) combustion in conventional (air) and simulated oxy-combustion (oxygen/carbon dioxide) environments. Emphasis was placed on the latter, as oxy-combustion of renewable or waste biomass, coupled with carbon capture and utilization or sequestration, could be a benefit toward mitigating global warming. The oxy-combustion environments were set to 21%O2/79%CO2 and 30%O2/70%CO2. Results revealed that combustion of either raw or torrefied biomass generated CO2 emissions that were lower in 21%O2/79%CO2 than at 30%O2/70%CO2, whereas CO emissions exhibited the opposite trend. Emissions of CO from combustion in air were drastically lower than those in the two oxy-combustion environments and those in 21%O2/79%CO2 were the highest. Emissions of NO followed the same trend as those of CO2, while HCN emissions followed the same trend as those of CO. Emissions of NO were higher than those of HCN. The emissions of SO2 were lower in oxy-combustion than in air combustion. Moreover, combustion of torrefied biomass generated higher CO2 and NO, comparable CO and SO2, and lower HCN emissions than combustion of raw biomass. Out of the three conditions tested in this study, oxy-combustion of biomass, either in the raw and torrefied state, attained the highest combustion effectiveness and caused the lowest CO, HCN, and SO2 emissions when the gas composition was 30%O2/70%CO2. 

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