Bioresource Upgrade for Sustainable Energy, Environment, and Biomedicine

Fanghua Li; Yiwei Li; K S Novoselov; Feng Liang; Jiashen Meng; Shih-Hsin Ho; Tong Zhao; Hui Zhou; Awais Ahmad; Yinlong Zhu; Liangxing Hu; Dongxiao Ji; Litao Jia; Rui Liu; Seeram Ramakrishna; Xingcai Zhang

doi:10.1007/s40820-022-00993-4

Bioresource Upgrade for Sustainable Energy, Environment, and Biomedicine

Nanomicro Lett. 2023 Jan 11;15(1):35. doi: 10.1007/s40820-022-00993-4.

Authors

Fanghua Li^{1

2}, Yiwei Li^{3

4

5}, K S Novoselov^{6

7}, Feng Liang⁸, Jiashen Meng³, Shih-Hsin Ho², Tong Zhao², Hui Zhou⁹, Awais Ahmad¹⁰, Yinlong Zhu¹¹, Liangxing Hu¹², Dongxiao Ji¹, Litao Jia², Rui Liu², Seeram Ramakrishna¹, Xingcai Zhang¹³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Nanofibers and Nanotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119260, Singapore.
² State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, People's Republic of China.
³ School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
⁴ John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
⁵ The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, People's Republic of China.
⁶ Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117546, Singapore.
⁷ School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
⁸ Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
⁹ Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
¹⁰ Departamento de Quimica Organica, Universidad de Cordoba, Edificio Marie Curie (C-3), Ctra Nnal IV-A, Km 396, 14014, Cordoba, Spain.
¹¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
¹² School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
¹³ John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA. xingcai@mit.edu.

Abstract

We conceptualize bioresource upgrade for sustainable energy, environment, and biomedicine with a focus on circular economy, sustainability, and carbon neutrality using high availability and low utilization biomass (HALUB). We acme energy-efficient technologies for sustainable energy and material recovery and applications. The technologies of thermochemical conversion (TC), biochemical conversion (BC), electrochemical conversion (EC), and photochemical conversion (PTC) are summarized for HALUB. Microalgal biomass could contribute to a biofuel HHV of 35.72 MJ Kg^-1 and total benefit of 749 $/ton biomass via TC. Specific surface area of biochar reached 3000 m² g^-1 via pyrolytic carbonization of waste bean dregs. Lignocellulosic biomass can be effectively converted into bio-stimulants and biofertilizers via BC with a high conversion efficiency of more than 90%. Besides, lignocellulosic biomass can contribute to a current density of 672 mA m^-2 via EC. Bioresource can be 100% selectively synthesized via electrocatalysis through EC and PTC. Machine learning, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle analysis are essential to various upgrading approaches of HALUB. Sustainable biomaterials, sustainable living materials and technologies for biomedical and multifunctional applications like nano-catalysis, microfluidic and micro/nanomotors beyond are also highlighted. New techniques and systems for the complete conversion and utilization of HALUB for new energy and materials are further discussed.

Keywords: Circular economy; Energy-efficient conversion; High availability low utilization biomass (HALUB); Machine learning; Nano-catalysis.

Publication types

Review