Physical and Chemical Characterization of Various Indian Agriculture Residues for Biofuels Production

Lignocellulosic material (LCM) has been considered as a potent feedstock for biofuel production either as gaseous, liquid, and/or solid fuel to meet the energy demands. Conversion of lignocellulosic materials to biofuels is possible mainly by two processes, i.e., thermochemical and biochemical. For overall efficiency of processes designed to convert the lignocellulosic materials into the desired biofuel, it is important to understand the characteristics of these lignocellulosic components. The present study aims for physicochemical characterization of common lignocellulosic agricultural residues available in India, i.e., rice straw, rice husk, cotton stalk, wheat straw, bagasse, corn stover, sorghum stalk, mustard stalk, corn cob, and jatropha pruning. Physical and chemical characterization of lignocellulosic samples is carried out by higher heating value, crystallinity index, thermal properties, CHNS/O analysis, FTIR, metal analysis, and compositional analysis. Among all of the biomass samples analyzed, corn cob has the highest content of cellulose and hernicellulose, i.e., 61.2% (w/w), making it the most potent feedstock for production of biofuels using biochemical process, whereas cotton stalk has relatively higher thermochemical potential due to its higher heating value (19.2 MJ/kg). Rice husk and rice straw have the highest ash content, i.e., 17.4 and 13.7% (w/w), respectively, indicating a significant amount of undesirable material.