An overview of biomass thermochemical conversion technologies in Malaysia

Chan YH 1 , Cheah KW 1 , How BS 2 , Loy ACM 1 , Shahbaz M 3 , Singh HKG 1 Show all authors , Yusuf NR 4 , Shuhaili AFA 1 , Yusup S 5 , Ghani WAWAK 6 , Rambli J 6 , Kansha Y 7 , Lam HL 8 , Hong BH 8 , Ngan SL 8

Affiliations 

  • 1 Biomass Processing Lab, Center of Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia; Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
  • 2 Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Jalan Simpang Tiga, 93350 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 3 Biomass Processing Lab, Center of Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia; Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia; Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar
  • 4 Fundamental and Applied Sciences Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
  • 5 Biomass Processing Lab, Center of Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia; Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia. Electronic address: drsuzana_yusuf@utp.edu.my
  • 6 Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering / Sustainable Process Engineering Research Centre (SPERC), Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 7 Organization for Programs on Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
  • 8 Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
Sci Total Environ, 2019 Aug 25;680:105-123.
PMID: 31100662 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.211

Abstract

The rising pressure on both cleaner production and sustainable development have been the main driving force that pushes mankind to seek for alternative greener and sustainable feedstocks for chemical and energy production. The biomass 'waste-to-wealth' concept which convert low value biomass into value-added products which contain high economic potential, have attracted the attentions from both academicians and industry players. With a tropical climate, Malaysia has a rich agricultural sector and dense tropical rainforest, giving rise to abundance of biomass which most of them are underutilized. Hence, the biomass 'waste-to-wealth' conversion through various thermochemical conversion technologies and the prospective challenges towards commercialization in Malaysia are reviewed in this paper. In this paper, a critical review about the maturity status of the four most promising thermochemical conversion routes in Malaysia (i.e. gasification, pyrolysis, liquefaction and hydroprocessing) is given. The current development of thermochemical conversion technologies for biomass conversion in Malaysia is also reviewed and benchmarked against global progress. Besides, the core technical challenges in commercializing these green technologies are highlighted as well. Lastly, the future outlook for successful commercialization of these technologies in Malaysia is included.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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