High‐value chemicals from lignin could increase the profitability of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Besides lignin from the paper and pulp industry, ethanol plants produce lignin as a waste; thus, the objective of this work is to evaluate the techno‐economics of integrating hydrothermal liquefaction of lignin to produce biochemicals within ethanol biorefineries. This paper evaluates a 2000 metric tonne per day (MTPD) corn‐stover biorefinery producing 61 MMgal/yr. of ethanol and different yields of lignin‐derived biochemicals. A minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) of $1.03 ± 0.19 per gallon was computed considering the production of lignin‐derived catechol, phenol, cresols, acetic acid, formic acid, furfural, and acetaldehyde. The most influential factors on MESP identified are fixed capital investment, internal rate of return (IRR), feedstock price, cresols, catechol, and acetic acid prices. In terms of costs, the total purchased equipment cost is $114.5 MM, total installed cost (TIC) is $345.7 MM, and total capital investment is $624.5 MM. However, ethanol biorefineries adopting this lignin‐to‐chemicals strategy could still face higher levels of price uncertainty. The hydrothermal liquefaction process for the production of lignin‐derived chemicals is in the early stages of development; thus more laboratory and pilot‐scale research is needed to establish its potential for commercialization. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

This study compares the use of three low boiling point polar aprotic solvents, tetrahydrofuran (THF), acetone, and 1,4-dioxane, for extracting biomass sugars in ethanol biorefineries. The techno-economic analysis employs experimental data to build a chemical process model and estimate capital and operating costs of a commercial-scale biorefinery. The biomass solvent liquefaction in a 2000 metric tonne per day sugar fermentation biorefinery yields ethanol at minimum fuel-selling prices (MFSP) of $2.98 to $4.06 per gallon. THF achieves the lowest MFSP. Uncertainty analysis indicates that solvent to biomass ratio, glucose and xylose yields, feedstock price, and capital costs are the primary drivers of the ethanol MFSP. The 10% to 90% percentile for THF-based ethanol MFSP are estimated to be $2.31 and $3.21 per gallon. Life cycle analysis shows that with a lower solvent to biomass ratio as suggested by previous studies, our process could achieve GHG emissions reduction of 25% and 45% for THF and acetone cases, respectively. Further optimization of the process could lead to significant reductions in ethanol costs, commercialization risks, and GHG emissions.

Abstract. Maize is an important crop for many smallholder farmers in the world. Maize weevils () cause a significant loss in quality and quantity during maize storage, especially in tropical regions. Hermetic storage of maize has been shown to be effective in controlling maize weevils in laboratory and field settings. The objective of this research was to test the effectiveness of steel barrels that could be used by smallholder farmers for hermetic storage. Six 208 L (55 gal) steel barrels were each loaded with 170 kg (375 lb) of maize at an average moisture of 13.4% w.b., with initial weevil population densities of 25 live weevils kg-1 (11 live weevils lb-1) of maize. All six barrels were stored at 27°C (81°F) under non-hermetic conditions for 120 d, corresponding to approximately three weevil lifecycles. After 120 d, weevil population densities had increased to an average of 99 live weevils kg-1 (45 live weevils lb-1) in all six barrels. Three of the six barrels were subsequently hermetically sealed. After an additional 30 days (150 days since experiment start), the weevil population densities were zero in every hermetically sealed barrel (100% mortality) and averaged 141 live weevils kg-1 (64 live weevils lb-1) in the non-hermetic barrels. All barrels where then exposed to non-hermetic conditions for an additional 40 days (approximately one weevil lifecycle). The barrels previously under hermetic conditions had zero live weevils, while the other barrels averaged 214 live weevils kg-1 (98 live weevils lb-1), demonstrating that all stages of weevils (eggs, larvae, and pupae) were killed. Means of barrel oxygen content, test weight (TW), moisture content (MC), temperature, and humidity were significantly different between the hermetically sealed and control treatments. In contrast, broken corn and foreign material (BCFM) and mechanical damage (MD) were not significantly different. Hermetically sealed steel barrels may be an effective maize storage option for smallholder farmers. Keywords: BCFM, Maize weevil, Mechanical damage, Moisture content, Mortality, Mycotoxins, Test weight.

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This study was conducted for a period of 4 weeks to monitor and evaluate the process of bio-stimulation and natural recovery rates in terms of bacteria and fungi communities to diesel contaminated soils. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to measure pH, moisture content, Potassium (K), Phosphorous (P), Organic Nitrogen (ON), Organic Carbon (OC), Organic Matter (OM), fungi and bacteria cells before and after soils were intentionally contaminated with diesel. The results of this study showed that treatment level, K, P and pH have a positive effect on the number of bacterial cells whereas moisture content, sand and clay particles impact negatively. A correlation coefficient of R 2 =-0.93 was obtained between time and OC, OM, ON while OC, OM, ON and bacteria showed an R 2 =-0.58. Three conclusions can be drawn based on this study. One, by week 4, bacterial cells counts had doubled. Two, by week 4, bacterial counts numerically outnumbered fungal cells. Three, the increase in both bacterial and fungal cells was accompanied with a decrease in OM, OC and ON. This means that both bacterial and fungal cells had adapted by week 4.