Biomass Group, Nanjing Agricultural University, PO Box 68, 40 Dianjiangtai Road, Nanjing 210031

Congratulations to Ms WU for the succesful defence her dissertation

Ms Xuehua WU, a joint training PhD student of Kunming University of Science and Technology and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences), co-supervised by Prof. Hua WANG and Prof. Zhen FANG has succesfully passed her defence of dissertation on 4th May 2015.

She has successfully defended her thesis entitled “carbon-based solid acid and magnetic solid base catalyzed in biodiesl production from Jatropha oil” while the committee suggested that Kunming University of Science and Technology to award her a doctorate degree in Engineering , according to relevant authorities and subjected to regulations.

During her PhD studies, she underwent 4 years (2011-2015) of training and carried out her research project in our biomass lab. She managed to complete four research papers and one international conference paper.

Once again, Congratulations to Ms WU.

方真研究员编著的一系列生物燃料英文专著出版

方真研究员于2012年受斯普林格(Springer)科技出版集团邀请出任 Springer系列丛书 -“生物燃料和生物炼制”总编辑。他领导的编委会由生物质燃料和生物质精炼领域的美国国家工程院院士（Fellow of National Academy of Engineering）、加拿大工程院院士 （Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering）和来自日本东北大学（Tohoku University）的超临界流体方面的教授五位专家组成。该系列丛书每年出版两册，内容广泛涵盖生物质原料、生物燃料、生物制品、化学品、生物材料、食品和医药产品、能源规划和政策，以及加工技术等方面的知识和研究进展。它将为科学工作者、工程技术人员和政策制定者在科研和政策规划方面提供有效的参考。

截至发稿前，已出版的图书介绍如下：

1.《Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Microwave》，编辑：方真, Richard L. Smith Jr.，Xinhua Qi， Springer，精装，271页，2015

（http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9789401796118）

转化生物质为化学品和生物燃料是一非常活跃的研究和开发领域，因现在的趋势是用可再生资源来代替传统化石燃料。通过把加工处理方法和微波或超声波相结合应用到生物炼制中来提高效率，可以显著地增加、过程强化以及可以实现操作时间大幅度地降低。“用微波生产生物燃料和化学品”和“用超声波生产生物燃料和化学品”是两本独立的专著，采取不同的和互补的方法进行预处理和化学转化生物质为化学品和生物燃料。

本书主要介绍微波辐射的理论和实践方面的研究现状和前景，包括微波性质、作用和温度监测；化学反应器的设计；微波、超音波、流体动力学空化和高剪切混合的协同作用；化学和催化转化木质素为化学品；热解和气化；废物生产合成气；平台化学品；藻类生物柴油；纤维素基纳米复合材料；木质纤维素预处理；绿色化学指标和能耗；以及催化热解装置处理生物质颗粒为芳烃的技术经济分析。本书是为化学和化工领域的学生、研究人员、学者和企业家特意打造的一参考资料，包括介绍性章节强调基本技术概念和它们的应用。

2.《Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ultrasound》，编辑：方真, Richard L. Smith Jr.，Xinhua Qi， Springer，精装，358页，2015

（http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9789401796231）

本书（“超音波”是上本“微波”的姐妹篇）主要介绍当前超音波技术的研究进展和前景，包括声空化在声化学中的机械原理；生物燃料合成中的物理和化学机制；酯交换和酯化反应中反应器设计；微藻生物质中提取油脂；微藻类萃取；生物柴油和生物乙醇合成；实用技术和系统；预处理生物质废物（包括木质纤维原料、粪便和污泥）生产沼气；超音波辅助制造生物质颗粒；化学-机械结合方法；淀粉基废物的利用和技术经济方法。全书12章均被同行评审和编辑以提高本书的质量、范围和主题。本书为化学和化工领域的学生、研究人员、学者和企业家特意打造的一本参考资料，包括介绍性章节强调基本技术概念和它们的应用。

3.《Near-critical and Supercritical Water and Their Applications for Biorefineries》，编辑：方真, Chunbao (Charles) Xu， Springer，精装，474页，2014

（http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9789401789226）

这本书介绍了近临界水（NCW）和超临界水（SCW）的基本化学知识和性质；反应器的设计准则和挑战/解决方案以及它们在生物炼制应用中最新的回顾和实践，包括：生物水热炭的制备；超临界水氧化（SCWO）废弃物；超临界水气化（SCWG）生物质和废弃物生产氢气和甲烷；水热液化生物质；化学品的生产；超临界水氧化生物燃料生产能源。同时也介绍超临界水制氢的技术和经济分析。这本书对于发展新型生物炼制技术和利用近临界水和超临界水处理各种有机废弃物，以及用可再生的生物资源生产生物能源和化学品方面的研究人员和工业界人士提供了重要的参考资料。

4.《Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ionic Liquids》，编辑：方真, Richard L. Smith Jr.，Xinhua Qi， Springer，精装，340页，2014

（http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9789400777101）

本书阐述在未来十年内利用离子液体从生物质中生产生物燃料和化学品的应用将是一个热门的研究领域，这是由于离子液体具有多功能的和迷人的性质，能溶解木质纤维素原料。本书为读者提供了最新的基础知识、评论以及该领域目前的评估和前景，包括预处理、发酵、生物质溶解、纤维素转换、反应动力学和物理特性，以及后续生产生物燃料和平台化学物质，如糖类、醛和酸类。同时也涉及到辅助方法，如催化、微波和酶技术在生物质转换中的应用。研究者和应用人员都会在各个章节中找到大量的信息。由世界各地该领域的专家撰写的这些章节为读者提供一个怎样评估使用离子液体预处理和转换生物质的路线，并开发新的方法和化学工艺。

其他已经出版专著：

5.《Pretreatment Techniques for Biofuels and Biorefineries》，编辑：方真, Springer，精装，457页，2013

（http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9783642327346）

这本书由世界著名的生物质预处理方法的专家参与撰写的，共19章。它包括生物质的不同类型（如糖蜜、甜菜浆、干酪乳清、甘蔗渣、废植物油、棕榈废料、稻草、秸秆和木材）和各种预处理（如物理、热、化学、物理和生物）方法用于后续生产生物燃料和化学品，如糖、乙醇、胞外多糖、生物柴油、气体和油。除了传统的预处理方法，如蒸汽、热水、水热、稀酸、有机溶剂、臭氧分解、亚硫酸盐，研磨、真菌和细菌、超声波、微波、等离子体、烘焙、制粒、气化（包括沼气）和液化方法外，还介绍和讨论了新技术，如纳米和固体催化剂、有机电解液和离子液体。这本书回顾了最新的研究进展并提供了开发生物燃料预处理技术路线指导兰图，特别是在生物技术、微生物学、化学、材料科学与工程方面领域。本书对预处理技术进行了系统的介绍，为在生物炼制方面的工作人员、学生、学者和企业家提供了一重要参考文献。

6.《Rapid Production of Micro- and Nano-particles Using Supercritical Water》，著者：方真, Springer，精装，92页，2010

（http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9783642129865）

这本书介绍了如何使用超临界水（SCW）合成纳米和微米氧化物、无机盐和金属颗粒近期的研究进展，以及利用超临界水沉淀法生产聚合物/生物质颗粒。这些颗粒可以用作生物质转换的催化剂、陶瓷和电子设备材料以及复合材料。颗粒很容易在一连续流动反应器中短时间内产生，也可在一批次反应器中长时间反应合成。除了合成工艺，这本书也研究了这些材料的特性。在超临界水合成中，颗粒大小、尺寸分布、晶体生长和结构以及粒子形态可以由进料浓度、pH值、压力、温度、加热和冷却速度、有机物修饰、还原或氧化环境、流量和反应时间来控制。

7.《Biodiesel – Feedstocks, Production and Applications》，编辑：方真, InTech,，精装，488页，2012

（http://www.intechopen.com/books/biodiesel-feedstocks-production-and-applications）

生物柴油是可再生、可生物降解、无毒和碳中性的。生物柴油应用在欧洲和美国已经商业化，它的使用在全球急剧扩大。虽然有很多关于生物柴油的书，还需要一个全面综合的教科书。这本书是全面系统地介绍生物柴油，从生产原料及其加工技术到副产品和生物柴油的综合应用。本书共17章，由世界各地的生物柴油专家撰写。章节分为4部分: 第1部分(1 – 5章)原料；第2部分(6 – 9章)生物柴油的生产方法；第3部分(10 – 13章)生物柴油副产品应用；第4部分(14 – 17章)生物柴油在发动机中的应用。这本书回顾了最新的生物柴油研究进展和应用，为生物柴油领域的学生、研究人员、科学家和技术人员提供的一本重要的参考书。

8.《Biofuels – Economy, Environment and Sustainability》，编辑：方真, InTech,，精装，386页，2013

（http://www.intechopen.com/books/biofuels-economy-environment-and-sustainability）

由于高油价、能源安全的需要和全球变暖问题，生物燃料获得了公众和学术界的极大关注。在生物燃料的生产及其实际应用中存在各种各样的社会、经济、环境和技术问题。这本书通过提供专业人士的观点，旨在解决这些问题。书中还涵盖了生物燃料的经济和环境影响。本文由世界各地的著名专家撰写， 共14章，内容包括生产和使用生物燃料过程中的经济、环境和可持续性。书的章节分为3部分: 第1部分(1 – 6章)原料生产的可持续性和经济性；第2部分(7-9章)生物燃料系统；第3部分(10 – 14章)生物燃料的环境分析。这本书概述了生物燃料使用中的社会、经济、环境和可持续发展的问题，为生物燃料领域的学生、研究人员、科学家和技术人员提供的一本重要的参考书。

9.《Liquid, Gaseous and Solid Biofuels – Conversion Techniques》，编辑：方真, InTech,，精装，541页，2013

（http://www.intechopen.com/books/liquid-gaseous-and-solid-biofuels-conversion-techniques）

生物质是一种可再生和分布于全球各地的资源，如果管理得当，可以被认为是可持续的和碳中性的。它可用各种技术被转化为高品质的气体、液体和固体生物燃料。本书介绍了生产液态和气态燃料的最新转化技术。本书共17章，由世界各地的著名专家撰写。章节分为2部分: 第1部分(1 – 12章)液体生物燃料；第2部分(13-17章)气体和其他产品的生产方法。本书概述了最新的生物燃料转化技术，为生物燃料领域的学生、研究人员、科学家和技术人员提供了一本重要的参考书。

10.《Biodiesel: Blends, Properties and Applications》，编辑：Jorge Mario Marchetti，方真, Nova，精装，293页，2011

（https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=21023）

生物柴油（长链脂肪酸甲酯）来自可再生油脂，如植物油或动物脂肪。它可以作为替代燃料和化石柴油的添加剂。本书收集了来自世界各地的研究成果，内容包括生物柴油混合、性质和应用。讨论的主题包括生物柴油纯化方法、生物柴油在垃圾车上废气排放的研究、固体催化剂催化甘油三酯为生物柴油、生物柴油生产中废物和副产品的转化以及用阳离子交换树脂作为固体酸催化剂生产生物柴油。

11.《Complete dissolution and oxidation of organic wastes in water: Complete dissolution and oxidation of organic wastes in supercritical water》，著者：方真, VDM，平装，192页，2009

（http://www.amazon.com/Complete-dissolution-oxidation-organic-wastes/dp/3639144244）

这本书是关于用超临界水溶解有机废物并利用氧气均相完全氧化该废物。首先，介绍了超临界水的性质，并利用其特有的性质溶解有机物并氧化。利用一可视的微型钻石反应器（DAC）和红外显微镜对纯有机物的相平衡进行了研究。超临界水氧化实验在一更大的批次反应器进行。从DAC可视观察到：水和纤维素、萘、苯并（a）芘以及聚苯乙烯可形成均相，当加入氧气/碳酸钠时，十氯联苯可完全溶解于超临界水。均相条件被用于氧化混合的脱墨污泥废物，它由上述的纯有机物和重金属（Pb、Cr、Cd）组成。研究发现：该污泥中的所有有机物几乎可以完全氧化，同时重金属盐沉淀为水不溶性的氧化物和盐被去除。

待出版的专著：

12.《Hydrogen Production from Renewable Resources》，编辑：方真, Richard L. Smith Jr.，Xinhua Qi， Springer，精装， 2015

———————————————————

方真研究员简介：

方真  二级研究员,  博士生导师，中国农业大学生物和农业工程博士（导师：曾德超院士）;加拿大麦吉尔（McGill）大学材料工程博士（导师：JA Kozinski院士）。中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园，生物能源组组长; 中国科技大学生命学院兼职教授和博导。他是快速水解技术发明人（美国专利号US patent#: 8268126, 2012），进入“2014年中国高被引学者”能源领域榜单（Elsevier-Scopus）。他担任Springer系列丛书“生物燃料和生物炼制”总编辑，Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy总编辑。他是Biotechnology for Biofuels (IF 6.2，生物能源领域影响因子最高的刊物)副主编，Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining (IF 4.3)顾问编委, 以及9个国际期刊的编委。 主要从事：热化学和生物化学转化生物质为生物能源和附加值高的产品。同时，研究合成纳米催化剂以促进生物质转化。

 

 

 

A series of highly-downloaded books in biofuels by Prof. Zhen Fang were published

2012, Springer launched a book series entitled, “Biofuels and Biorefineries” with Professor Zhen Fang serving as Editor-in-Chief.

Professor Zhen FANG cooperates with the Editorial Board, comprising five world-leaders in biofuels and biorefineries:

Prof. Liang-shih Fan, Ohio State Univ., USA;

Prof. John R. Grace, Univ. of British Columbia, Canada;

Prof. Yonghao Ni, Univ. of New Brunswick, Canada;

Prof. Norman R. Scott, Cornell Univ., USA;

Prof. Richard L. Smith, Jr., Tohoku Univ., Japan,

for this book series.

The editorial team is committed to organize and assist authors to publish a number of biomass-related books with the highest quality that will accelerate the growth in this important area, aimed at the publication of at least two volumes per year.

The book series will be focusing on all aspect related with biomass production, biofuels, bioproducts, chemicals, biomaterials, food and pharmaceutical products, energy planning and policy, as well as processing technologies.

The book series will be the powerful and integrative source of biomass, bioenergy, biofuels, bioproducts and biorefinery for scientists, students, policy-makes and engineers to reflect the explosive growth in this interdisciplinary area.

The book series will be operating with a strict refereeing procedure to ensure that the best quality of books and chapters is published.

The selected books published were listed below:

1.Zhen Fang*, RL Smith, Jr, XH Qi (Editors), Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Microwave, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-9611-8, hardcover, 300 pages, 2015. (5665 chapter downloads on April 18 2015).

At: http://www.springer.com/energy/renewable+and+green+energy/book/978-94-017-9611-8

Conversion of biomass into chemicals and biofuels is an active research and development area as trends move to replace traditional fossil fuels with renewable resources. By integrating processing methods with microwave and ultrasound irradiation into biorefineries, the time-scale of many operations can be greatly reduced while the efficiency of the reactions can be remarkably increased so that process intensification can be achieved. “Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Microwave” and “Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ultrasound” are two independent volumes in the Biofuels and Biorefineries series that take different, but complementary approaches for the pretreatment and chemical transformation of biomass into chemicals and biofuels.

The volume “Microwave” provides current research advances and prospects in theoretical and practical aspects of microwave irradiation including properties, effects and temperature monitoring, design of chemical reactors, synergistic effects on combining microwave, ultrasound, hydrodynamic cavitation and high-shear mixing into processes, chemical and catalytic conversion of lignin into chemicals, pyrolysis and gasification, syngas production from wastes, platform chemicals, algal biodiesel, cellulose-based nanocomposites, lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, green chemistry metrics and energy consumption and techno-economic analysis for a catalytic pyrolysis facility that processes pellets into aromatics. Each of the 12 chapters has been peer-reviewed and edited to improve both the quality of the text and the scope and coverage of the topics. Both volumes “Microwave” and “Ultrasound” are references designed for students, researchers, academicians and industrialists in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering and include introductory chapters to highlight present concepts of the fundamental technologies and their application.

2.Zhen Fang*, RL Smith, Jr, XH Qi (Editors), Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ultrasound, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-9623-1, hardcover, 415 pages, 2015. (3857 chapter downloads on April 18 2015).

At: http://www.springer.com/energy/renewable+and+green+energy/book/978-94-017-9623-1

The volume “Ultrasound” provides current research advances and prospects in mechanistic principles of acoustic cavitation in sonochemistry, physical and chemical mechanisms in biofuel synthesis, reactor design for transesterification and esterification reactions, lipid extraction from algal biomass, microalgae extraction, biodiesel and bioethanol synthesis, practical technologies and systems, pretreatment of biomass waste sources including lignocellulosic materials, manures and sludges for biogas production, vibration-assisted pelleting, combined chemical-mechanical methods, valorization of starch-based wastes and  techno-economic methodology.  Each of the 12 chapters has been peer-reviewed and edited to improve both the quality of the text and the scope and coverage of the topics.  Both volumes “Ultrasound” and “Microwave” are references designed for students, researchers, academicians and industrialists in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering and include introductory chapters to highlight present concepts of the fundamental technologies and their application.

3.Zhen Fang*, C Xu (Editors), Near-critical and Supercritical Water and Their Applications for Biorefineries, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-8922-6, hardcover, 490 pages, 2014. (7957 chapter downloads on April 18 2015).

At: http://www.springer.com/energy/renewable+and+green+energy/book/978-94-017-8922-6

The book provides fundamental chemistry and properties of near-critical water (NCW) and supercritical water (SCW), criteria and challenges/solutions in reactor design for NCW and SCW processes, and up-to-date reviews and practice of a wide range of their applications in bio refineries including: production of hydrochars from biomass, SCW oxidation (SCWO) for waste treatment, SCW gasification (SCWG) of biomass and waste for hydrogen and methane production, hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass, production of chemicals and SCWO of biofuels for energy. It also presents techno-economic analysis of hydrogen production via SCWG of biomass. The book will be highly essential for both academic researchers and industrial practitioners for developing novel bio refinery technologies and processes employing NCW or SCW for treatment of various organic waste streams and production of bio-energy and bio-based chemicals from bio-renewable resources.

4.Zhen Fang*, RL Smith, Jr, XH Qi (Editors), Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ionic Liquids, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-007-7710-1, hardcover, 353 pages, 2014. (Highly downloaded: 15184 chapter downloads on April 18 2015).

At: http://www.springer.com/energy/renewable+and+green+energy/book/978-94-007-7710-1

The application of ionic liquids to biomass for producing biofuels and chemicals will be one of the hot research areas during the next decade due to the fascinating properties of these versatile group of solvents that allow them to dissolve lignocellulosic materials. The present text provides up-to-date fundamentals, state-of-the-art reviews, current assessments and prospects in this area, including aspects of pretreatment, fermentation, biomass dissolution, cellulose transformation, reaction kinetics and physical properties, as well as the subsequent production of biofuels and platform chemicals such as sugars, aldehydes and acids. Auxiliary methods such as catalysis, microwave and enzymatic techniques used in the transformations are covered. Both researchers and practitioners are certain to find a wealth of information in the individual chapters, which were written by experts in the field to provide an essential basis for assessing possible pretreatment and transformation routes of biomass using ionic liquids, and for developing new methods and chemical processes.

Other books:

5.Zhen Fang* (Editor), Biofuels – Economy, Environment and Sustainability, InTech – Open Access, ISBN 978-953-51-0950-1, hardcover, 386 pages, 2013. (28591 chapter downloads for Jan 2013-April 2015).

At: http://www.intechopen.com/books/biofuels-economy-environment-and-sustainability

Biofuels are gaining public and scientific attention driven by high oil prices, the need for energy security and global warming concerns. There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues regarding biofuel production and its practical use. This book is intended to address these issues by providing viewpoints written by professionals in the field and the book also covers the economic and environmental impact of biofuels.

This text includes 14 chapters contributed by experts around world on the economy, evironment and sustainability of biofuel production and use. The chapters are categorized into 3 parts:

PART 1: Feedstocks; PART 2: Biofuels; PART 3: Environment

This book overviews social, economic, environmental and sustainable issues by the use of biofuels. It should be of interest for students, researchers, scientists and technologists in biofuels.

6.Zhen Fang* (Editor), Liquid, Gaseous and Solid Biofuels – Conversion Techniques, InTech – Open Access, ISBN 978-953-51-1050-7, hardcover, 541 pages, 2013. (41316 chapter downloads for March 2013-April 2015).

At: http://www.intechopen.com/books/liquid-gaseous-and-solid-biofuels-conversion-techniques

Biomass is a renewable, unevenly geographically distributed resource that can be considered sustainable and carbon-neutral if properly managed. It can be converted to high-qualified gaseous, liquid and solid biofuels with many techniques. This book focuses on the latest conversion techniques for the production of liquid and gaseous biofuels that should be of interest to the chemical scientists and technologists.

This book includes 18 chapters contributed by experts around world on conversion techniques. The chapters are categorized into 2 parts:

PART 1: Liquids; PART 2: Gases and other products

This book offers reviews of state-of-the-art conversion techniques for biofuels. It should be of interest for students, researchers, scientists and technologists in the engineering and sciences fields.

7.Zhen Fang* (Editor), Pretreatment Techniques for Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-3-642-32734-6, hardcover, 476 pages, 2013.  (Among the top 25% most downloaded eBooks in 2013; 25714 chapter downloads on April 18 2015).

At: http://www.springer.com/engineering/energy+technology/book/978-3-642-32734-6

This book includes 19 chapters contributed by the world’s leading experts on pretreatment methods for biomass. It extensively covers the different types of biomass (e.g. molasses, sugar beet pulp, cheese whey, sugarcane residues, palm waste, vegetable oil, straws, stalks and wood), various pretreatment approaches (e.g. physical, thermal, chemical, physicochemical and biological) and methods that show the subsequent production of biofuels and chemicals such as sugars, ethanol, extracellular polysaccharides, biodiesel, gas and oil. In addition to traditional methods such as steam, hot-water, hydrothermal, diluted-acid, organosolv, ozonolysis, sulfite, milling, fungal and bacterial, microwave, ultrasonic, plasma, torrefaction, pelletization, gasification (including biogas) and liquefaction pretreatments, it also introduces and discusses novel techniques such as nano and solid catalysts, organic electrolyte solutions and ionic liquids.

This book offers a review of state-of-the-art research and provides guidance for the future paths of developing pretreatment techniques of biomass for biofuels, especially in the fields of biotechnology, microbiology, chemistry, materials science and engineering. It intends to provide a systematic introduction of pretreatment techniques. It is an accessible reference work for students, researchers, academicians and industrialists in biorefineries.

8.Zhen Fang* (Editor), Biodiesel – Feedstocks, Production and Applications, InTech – Open Access, ISBN 978-953-51-0910-5, hardcover, 487 pages, 2013. (41813 chapter downloads for Dec 2012-April 2015).

At: http://www.intechopen.com/books/biodiesel-feedstocks-production-and-applications

Biodiesel is renewable, biodegradable, nontoxic and carbon-neutral. Biodiesel production has been commercialized in Europe and United States, and its use is expanding dramatically worldwide.  Although there are many books that focus on biodiesel, there is the need for a comprehensive text that considers development of biodiesel systems from the production of feedstocks and their processing technologies to the comprehensive applications of both by-products and biodiesel.

This book includes 17 chapters contributed by experts around world on biodiesel. The chapters are categorized into 4 parts:

PART 1: Feedstocks; PART 2: Biodiesel production; PART 3: By-product applications; PART 4: Biodiesel applications in engines

This book offers reviews of state-of-the-art research and applications on biodiesel. It should be of interest for students, researchers, scientists and technologists in biodiesel.

 9.JM Marchetti, Zhen Fang (Editors), Biodiesel: Blends, Properties and Applications (hardback). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., ISBN 13: 9781613246603 ISBN 10: 1613246609, 379 pages, Sep. 2011.

At: https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=21023

Biodiesel, which consists of long-chain fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) obtained from renewable lipids such as those in vegetable oils or animal fat can be used as both an alternative fuel and an additive for petroleum diesel. This book gathers research from across the globe in the study of biodiesel blends, properties and applications. Topics discussed include biodiesel purification methods; exhaust emissions study of biodiesel operated garbage trucks; the heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification of triglycerides into biodiesel; valorization of wastes and by-products derived from biodiesel manufacturing and biodiesel production using cation-exchange resin as heterogeneous acid catalyst.

10.Zhen Fang* (Author), Rapid Production of Micro- and Nano-particles Using Supercritical Water, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN: 978-3-642-12986-5, hardcover, 120 pages, August 2010. (2810 chapter downloads on April 18 2015).

At: http://www.springer.com/materials/nanotechnology/book/978-3-642-12986-5

This book shows how to use supercritical water (SCW) to synthesize nano- and micro- oxides, inorganic salts and metal particles and its recent advancement. Also polymer/biomass particles can be produced by using the method of precipitation of solutes from SCW. The particles can be used as catalysts for biomass conversions, materials in ceramics & electronic devices and composite materials. Particles are easily produced continuously in a flow reactor in short reaction times or synthesized in a batch reactor in long reaction times. Besides the synthesis process, the book also present studies of the properties of these materials. The size, size distribution, crystal growth & structure, and morphology of particles produced by supercritical water can be controlled by the feed concentrations, pH, pressures, temperatures, heating & cooling rates, organic modifications, reducing or oxidizing atmospheres, flow rates and reaction times.

11.Zhen Fang* (Author), Complete Dissolution and Oxidation of Organic Wastes in Water, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, Germany, ISBN: 9783639144246, paperback, 192 pages, April 2009.

At: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-dissolution-oxidation-organic-wastes/dp/3639144244

This book is about using supercritical water (SCW) process to dissolve organic wastes, and subsequent using oxygen to completely destroy the wastes by homogeneous oxidation. First, properties of SCW were introduced, and its peculiar properties were used to dissolve organics for oxidation. Phase behavior of pure organics were studied in an optical micro- reactor diamond anvil cell (DAC) coupled with optical & FT-IR microscopes. Oxidation experiments in SCW were performed in larger batch and flow reactors for complex wastes. From the visual observations in the DAC, homogeneous phases with water were found for cellulose, naphthalene, benzo(a) pyrene and polystyrene. Complete dissolution of decachlorobiphenyl occurred only when O2/Na2CO3 was present. The homogeneous conditions were used for the oxidation of a complex De-inking sludge waste that was mainly composed of the above pure organics and heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Cd) in larger reactors. It was found that all organics in the sludge could be almost completely oxidized. The heavy metal salts were effectively removed by precipitation to insoluble oxides and salts with little leachability.

12.Upcoming! Zhen Fang*, RL Smith, Jr, XH Qi (Editors), Hydrogen production from renewable resources, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, 14 Chapters, hardcover, contract-signed, Expected published in 2015.
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Short Bio

Zhen Fang, Professor in Bioenergy; Inventor of Fast Hydrolysis Process (US patent#: 8268126); Editor-in-Chief, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries; Leader and founder of biomass group, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. He is also adjunct full Professor of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China.

He has background in both bioenergy (PhD, Agr. Eng. China Agr. Univ. 1991) and nanotechnology (PhD, Mat.Eng. McGill, 2003).

He has 24 years in bioenergy, more than 13 years in hydrothermal, nanotechnology and diamond anvil cell techniques of international research experiences at top universities and institutes around the world (China, Canada, Japan and Spain). He found that hot-water can completely dissolve and hydrolyze cellulose that was published in I&EC Research, and was further selected as the “95 Most-Cited I&EC Research Publications” (cites: 355 from Scopus). He invented a technique to completely dissolve and fast hydrolyze wood in hot-water that may open up a new field in refining wood solution (US patent#: 8268126). He has 174 scientific publications (papeprs in journals and conference proceedings, reports, books and book chapters) and patents, including more than 90 papers (Scopus-indexed, Scopus Author ID: 7402681505), published in the top international journals in the areas of energy and chemical engineering. The total cites are >2000 times, H index 23 for his papers. He is listed in “2014 Most Cited Chinese Researchers” in energy (Elsevier-Scopus). He wrote 3 books (2 in English), 10 book chapters, 29 papers in refereed conference proceedings and 7 reports, edited 10 books (in English), gave 32 keynote & invited lectures and 27 oral presentations & posters, and filed 27 Chinese, 3 US and 3 international PCT invention patents (19 Chinese and 1 US patents were authorized), and founded a spin-off company in New York to transfer his tech. He won Yunnan governor’s friendship award, serving as Editor-in-Chief, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy; associate editor, Biotechnology for Biofuels (Impact factor 6.2, Highest IF in Biofuels);and 9 editorial board members of international journals (e.g., Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining -Biofpr, IF 4.3; Energy, Sustainability and Society-a Springer open journal).

Biodiesel production by transesterification with homogeneous catalysts (e.g, sodium methoxide, sodium or potassium hydroxide) is one of the most common methods, but it is difficult to recycle due to they are dissolved in methanol and glycerol mixture. So, researchers have focused on finding suitable heterogeneous solid catalysts, such as K2CO3 supported activated carbon, CaO, Sr/MgO, MnO and TiO, to replace homogeneous liquid catalysts. However, solid base catalysts are easy to deactivate when low qualified oils with high acid value (AV) are used as raw materials due to soap formation.
Mr. Zhang Fan, a PhD student, under the guidance of Professor Zhen Fang in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (CAS), prepared cheap and active magnetic heterogeneous catalyst (Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/C) for the production of biodiesel from oils with high acid value (AV) under ultrasonic (US) irradiation and magnetic stirring (MS). With the catalyst and assisted by US, soybean biodiesel yield reached > 90% in only 20 min (or at 318 K) and 97.9% under the optimal conditions. It was easily magnetically separated for 5 cycles with 94.9% recovery rate and biodiesel yield > 80% with both US and MS. The catalyst transesterified Jatropha oil with biodiesel yields of 94.7%, 93.2% and 83.5% at AV of 1.3, 4.8 and 7.3 (mg KOH/g) with US. High biodiesel yield (90.7%) was still achieved from high AV oil (4.8) at low US energy density (0.1 W/mL) and MS. The catalyst combined with US and MS can find practical application for direct production of biodiesel from oils with high AV, and recovered easily for recycles.
The results are published in fuel:
F Zhang, Zhen Fang*, YT Wang, Biodiesel Production Directly from Oils with High Acid Value by Magnetic Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/C Catalyst and Ultrasound, Fuel, 150, 370-377 (2015).

Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/磁性催化剂的制备及其用于超声波直接从高酸值油脂生产生物柴油

由于石化资源有限并且燃烧后二氧化碳浓度急剧升高，所以开发利用可再生的生物质燃料具有重要的价值和意义。生物柴油是一种清洁、可再生、碳中性并可替代石化柴油的液体燃料。利用均相催化剂（如：甲醇钠、氢氧化钾或氢氧化钠）通过酯交换反应制备生物柴油是最常用的方法，但是由于此类催化剂会溶解到甲醇和甘油中使得其难以循环再利用。所以研究人员一直努力寻找合适的非均相固体催化剂，例如碳载K2CO3、CaO、Sr/MgO、 MnO和TiO取代均相液体催化剂。但是碱性非均相固体催化剂由于皂化反应，不适宜用高酸值油（如废弃煎炸油、动物油脂和小桐子油）制备生物柴油。同时，与超声波辐射相比，在机械搅拌方式下，需要更长时间（如3 h）的酯交换反应制备生物柴油。
中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园生物能源组博士生张帆在方真研究员的指导下，成功合成了磁性非均相固体催化剂（Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/C），并利用该固体催化剂在超声波和机械搅拌条件下用于高酸值油脂制备生物柴油。实验结果表明：在20分钟45摄氏度的超声波辅助条件下大豆油得率高于90%（最优条件下可以达到97.9%），在机械搅拌和超声波辐射协同作用时，该催化剂循环五次后生物柴油得率仍然高于80%且催化剂回收率为94.9%。利用该催化剂催化转化不同酸值（1.3、4.8 和 7.3 mg KOH/g）小桐子油，其生物柴油得率分别为94.7%、93.2% 和 83.5%，并且在较低的超声波能量密度下（0.1 W/mL），高酸值小桐子油（4.8 mg KOH/g）的生物柴油得率仍然可以达到90.7%。结合机械搅拌和超声波辅助条件，Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/C可以实现高酸值原料油直接转化制备生物柴油。相关研究成果发表在国际著名能源期刊Fuel上：
F Zhang, Zhen Fang*, YT Wang, Biodiesel Production Directly from Oils with High Acid Value by Magnetic Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/C Catalyst and Ultrasound, Fuel, 150, 370-377 (2015).

图为可磁性分离的催化剂Na2SiO3@Fe3O4/C用于小桐子生物柴油制备

Recently, Elsevier-Scopus listed Prof. Zhen Fang in “2014 Most Cited Chinese Researchers” in energy.
方真研究员进入“2014年中国高被引学者”能源领域榜单（Elsevier-Scopus).
Dr. Zhen Fang, a researcher in bioenergy, returned to China in 2007 from McGill, Canada formed biomass group in CAS as leader and professor. He is specializing in thermal/biochemical conversion of biomass, nanocatalyst synthesis and its applications, pretreatment of biomass for biorefineries. He obtained his PhDs from China Agricultural University (Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Beijing) and McGill University (Materials Engineering, Montreal).
He is the inventor of “fast hydrolysis” process， Editor-in-Chief, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy; Associate Editor, Biotechnology for Biofuels (IF 6.2, Highest IF in Biofuels); and Editorial Advisory Board Member of Biofpr (Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, IF 4.3) as well as Energy, Sustainability and Society (a Springer open Journal).
He has 174 scientific papers, reports, books and patents, including 86 papers (31 as first author, 55 as corresponding author) published in top journals (most of them in Q1)  in the areas of energy & fuel, and chemical engineering (Scopus paper: 87; cites: >2000; H index: 23- Scopus Author ID: 7402681505; He wrote 3 books (2 in English), 10 book chapters, 29 papers in refereed conference proceedings and 7 reports, edited 10 English books in renowned international publishers (e.g., Springer), gave 32 keynote & invited lectures and 27 oral presentations & posters, and filed 27 Chinese, 3 US and 3 international PCT invention patents (17 Chinese and 1 US patents were authorized).

Recent selected english books:

1. 1. Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi (Editors), Hydrogen Production from Renewable Resources, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, 13 chapters, Contract-signed, Expected published in 2015.
2. 2. Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi (Editors), Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Microwave, Springer Book Series – Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-9611-8, hardcover, 300 pages, 2014.
3. 3. Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi (Editors), Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ultrasound, Springer Book Series – Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-9623-1, hardcover, 415 pages, 2014.
4. 4. Zhen Fang, C. Xu (Editors), Near-critical and Supercritical Water and Their Applications for Biorefineries, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-8922-6, hardcover, 520 pages, 2014.
5. 5. Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi (Editors), Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ionic Liquids, Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg Berlin, ISBN 978-94-007-7710-1, hardcover, 353 pages, 2013. (Highly downloaded: 6,313 chapter downloads for Jan-May 2014).
6. 6. Zhen Fang (Editor), Liquid, Gaseous and Solid Biofuels – Conversion Techniques, InTech – Open Access, ISBN 978-953-51-1050-7, hardcover, 541 pages, 2013. (31293 chapter downloads for March 2013-June 2014).
7. 7. Zhen Fang (Editor), Biofuels – Economy, Environment and Sustainability, InTech – Open Access, ISBN 978-953-51-0950-1, hardcover, 386 pages, 2013. (24127 chapter downloads for Jan 2013-June 2014).
8. 8. Zhen Fang (Editor), Pretreatment Techniques for Biofuels and Biorefineries, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg,  ISBN 978-3-642-32734-6, hardcover, 476 pages, 2013. (Among the top 25% most downloaded eBooks in 2013).
9. 9. Zhen Fang (Editor), Biodiesel – Feedstocks, Production and Applications, InTech – Open Access, ISBN 978-953-51-0910-5, hardcover, 487 pages, 2013. (35026 chapter downloads for Dec 2012-June 2014).
10. 10. J. M. Marchetti, Zhen Fang (Editors), Biodiesel: Blends, Properties and Applications (Hardback). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., ISBN 13: 9781613246603 ISBN 10: 1613246609, 379 pages, Sep. 2011.
11. 11. Zhen Fang (Author), Rapid Production of Micro- and Nano-particles Using Supercritical Water, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, ISBN: 978-3-642-12986-5, hardcover, 120 pages, 2010.
12. 12. Zhen Fang (Author), Complete Dissolution and Oxidation of Organic Wastes in Water, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, Germany, ISBN: 9783639144246, paperback, 192 pages, April 2009.