Bioprocessing

Question 1

Name advantages of using biomass as a feedstock.

Answer 1

Displaces fossil fuels with the use of waste (mitigation of environmental impact)

Nenewable and working towards carbon neutrality

Better for local economies to reduce dependence on foreign oil

Question 2

Name disadvantages of using biomass as a feedstock.

Answer 2

Landmass needed and slow growth of organisms so competition between food and feed

Lots of biomass needed to make products so large unit operations required.

Diversity of biomass from different sources

Question 3

How much pre treatment does starch need?

Answer 3

Mild pre treatment

Question 4

How much pre treatment does wheat straw need?

Answer 4

Harsh

Question 5

How much pre treatment does sugar need?

Answer 5

None

Question 6

How available is starch?

Answer 6

From dedicated crops

There is competition for land use

Question 7

How available is wheat straw?

Answer 7

Widely available because it’s from waste

Question 8

How available is sugar?

Answer 8

Commercial product so depends on supply and demand

There is competition with food industry

Question 9

How expensive is starch?

Answer 9

Cheaper to process than lignocellulosic (wheat straw) due to milder conditions

Question 10

How expensive is sugar?

Answer 10

£xpensive because it is sold as a purified product

Question 11

How sustainable is starch as a feedstock?

Answer 11

Comes from crops so requires resources (water, fertiliser) to produce starch

Growing crops for starch can lead to soil degradation and loss of biodiversity but diversified crop rotation can help mitigate

Question 12

How sustainable is wheat straw as a feedstock?

Answer 12

Good because it is a by-product of farming so repurposing waste

Uses lots of energy to process in terms if capital and operating costs

However, it is still worth it as little cost to producing wheat straw

Question 13

How sustainable is sugar as a feedstock?

Answer 13

Very energy intensive to produce and purify

Requires lots of water and land (deforestation)

Question 14

Give advantages of starch biomass.

Answer 14

Mild pre-treatment is less energy intensive.

Sourced from widely cultivated crops so abundant biomass.

Alternative to fossil fuels

Question 15

Give disadvantages of starch biomass.

Answer 15

Competition over land and food

Crop rotation is necessary to mitigate environmental impacts on soil

Question 16

Give disadvantages of lignocellulosic biomass.

Answer 16

More energy intensive / harsh conditions to depolymerise than starch

Question 17

Give advantages of lignocellulosic biomass.

Answer 17

Can be sourced from waste / residue from agriculture and paper industry

Not in competition with food

Question 18

How does a plate filter work?

Question 19

How does a rotary-drum vacuum filter work?

Question 20

How does a tubular bowl work?

Question 21

How does a disk stack work?

Question 22

Explain the composition of streams entering and existing a plate filter.

Question 23

Explain the composition of streams entering and existing a rotary drum vacuum filter.

Question 24

Explain the composition of streams entering and exiting .