Call: +34 876 555 482
Email: isabelfo@unizar.es
Address: Office 31.070; I+D+I Building; C/ Mariano Esquillor s/n 50018, Zaragoza
ABOUT ME
Research Interests
- Pyrolysis and gasification of lignocellulosic biomass and waste, mainly biological residues, i. e. sewage sludge, meat and bone meal or livestock manure.
- Bio-oil characterization and refining.
- High-value added products from bio-oil: isolation and characterization.
- Char adsorbents for hydrogen sulfide and ammonium.
- Ammonia sustainable production.
PUBLICATIONS
2020
Atienza-Martínez, María; Suraini, Nurull Nadia Binti; Ábrego, Javier; Fonts, Isabel; Lázaro, Luisa; Carstensen, Hans-Heinrich; Gea, Gloria
Functionalization of sewage sludge char by partial oxidation with molecular oxygen to enhance its adsorptive properties Journal Article
In: Journal of Cleaner Production, pp. 125201, 2020, ISSN: 09596526.
@article{Atienza-Martinez2020b,
title = {Functionalization of sewage sludge char by partial oxidation with molecular oxygen to enhance its adsorptive properties},
author = {María Atienza-Martínez and Nurull Nadia Binti Suraini and Javier Ábrego and Isabel Fonts and Luisa Lázaro and Hans-Heinrich Carstensen and Gloria Gea},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0959652620352458},
doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125201},
issn = {09596526},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-11-01},
journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},
pages = {125201},
publisher = {Elsevier},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Gil-Lalaguna, Noemí; Afailal, Zainab; Aznar, María; Fonts, Isabel
In: Journal of Cleaner Production, pp. 124417, 2020, ISSN: 09596526.
@article{Noemi2020,
title = {Exploring the sustainable production of ammonia by recycling N and H in biological residues: evolution of fuel-N during glutamic acid gasification},
author = {Noemí Gil-Lalaguna and Zainab Afailal and María Aznar and Isabel Fonts},
doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124417},
issn = {09596526},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-10-01},
journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},
pages = {124417},
publisher = {Elsevier BV},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2019
Pinheiro-Pires, Anamaria Paiva; Arauzo, Jesús; Fonts, Isabel; Domine, Marcelo E; Fernández-Arroyo, Alberto; Garcia-Perez, Martha Estrella; Montoya, Jorge; Chejne, Farid; Pfromm, Peter; Garcia-Perez, Manuel
Challenges and opportunities for bio-oil refining: A review Journal Article
In: vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 4683–4720, 2019, ISSN: 15205029.
@article{PinheiroPires2019,
title = {Challenges and opportunities for bio-oil refining: A review},
author = {Anamaria Paiva Pinheiro-Pires and Jesús Arauzo and Isabel Fonts and Marcelo E Domine and Alberto Fernández-Arroyo and Martha Estrella Garcia-Perez and Jorge Montoya and Farid Chejne and Peter Pfromm and Manuel Garcia-Perez},
doi = {10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b00039},
issn = {15205029},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06-01},
booktitle = {Energy and Fuels},
volume = {33},
number = {6},
pages = {4683--4720},
publisher = {American Chemical Society},
abstract = {Bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic materials is among the most complex and inexpensive raw oils that can be produced today. Although commercial or demonstration scale fast pyrolysis units can readily produce this oil, the pyrolysis industry has not grown to significant commercial impact due to the lack of bio-oil market pull. This paper is a review of the challenges and opportunities for bio-oil upgrading and refining. Pyrolysis oil consists of six major fractions (water 15-30 wt %, light oxygenates 8-26 wt %, monophenols 2-7 wt %, water insoluble oligomers derived from lignin 15-25 wt %, and water-soluble molecules 10-30 wt %). The composition of water-soluble oligomers is relatively poorly studied. In the 1880s, bio-oil refining (formally known as wood distillation) targeted the separation and commercialization of C1-C4 light oxygenated compounds to produce methanol, acetic acid, and acetone with the commercialization of the lignin derived water insoluble fraction for preserving wooden sailing vessels against rot. More recently, the company Ensyn extracted and commercialized condensed natural smoke as a food additive. Most research efforts in the last 20 years have focused on the two-step hydrotreatment concept for the production of transportation fuels. In spite of major progress, this concept remains at the demonstration scale. In this review, the opportunities and progress to separate bio-oil fractions and chemicals, mainly acetic acid (HAc), hydroxyacetaldehyde (HHA), acetol, and levoglucosan, and convert them into value added coproducts are thoroughly discussed. In spite of the large number of separation schemes and products tested, very few of them have been tested as part of fully integrated bio-oil refinery concepts. The synthesis and techno-economic and environmental evaluation of novel integrated bio-oil refinery concepts is likely to become a subject of intense research activity in the coming years.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic materials is among the most complex and inexpensive raw oils that can be produced today. Although commercial or demonstration scale fast pyrolysis units can readily produce this oil, the pyrolysis industry has not grown to significant commercial impact due to the lack of bio-oil market pull. This paper is a review of the challenges and opportunities for bio-oil upgrading and refining. Pyrolysis oil consists of six major fractions (water 15-30 wt %, light oxygenates 8-26 wt %, monophenols 2-7 wt %, water insoluble oligomers derived from lignin 15-25 wt %, and water-soluble molecules 10-30 wt %). The composition of water-soluble oligomers is relatively poorly studied. In the 1880s, bio-oil refining (formally known as wood distillation) targeted the separation and commercialization of C1-C4 light oxygenated compounds to produce methanol, acetic acid, and acetone with the commercialization of the lignin derived water insoluble fraction for preserving wooden sailing vessels against rot. More recently, the company Ensyn extracted and commercialized condensed natural smoke as a food additive. Most research efforts in the last 20 years have focused on the two-step hydrotreatment concept for the production of transportation fuels. In spite of major progress, this concept remains at the demonstration scale. In this review, the opportunities and progress to separate bio-oil fractions and chemicals, mainly acetic acid (HAc), hydroxyacetaldehyde (HHA), acetol, and levoglucosan, and convert them into value added coproducts are thoroughly discussed. In spite of the large number of separation schemes and products tested, very few of them have been tested as part of fully integrated bio-oil refinery concepts. The synthesis and techno-economic and environmental evaluation of novel integrated bio-oil refinery concepts is likely to become a subject of intense research activity in the coming years.
Benés, Mario; Bilbao, Rafael; Santos, Jandyson Machado; Melo, Josué Alves; Wisniewski, Alberto; Fonts, Isabel
Hydrodeoxygenation of Lignocellulosic Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil: Characterization of the Products and Effect of the Catalyst Loading Ratio Journal Article
In: Energy and Fuels, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 4272–4286, 2019, ISSN: 15205029.
@article{Benes2019,
title = {Hydrodeoxygenation of Lignocellulosic Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil: Characterization of the Products and Effect of the Catalyst Loading Ratio},
author = {Mario Benés and Rafael Bilbao and Jandyson Machado Santos and Josué Alves Melo and Alberto Wisniewski and Isabel Fonts},
doi = {10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b00265},
issn = {15205029},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-05-01},
journal = {Energy and Fuels},
volume = {33},
number = {5},
pages = {4272--4286},
publisher = {American Chemical Society},
abstract = {The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil at 350 °C and 200 bar in a batch reactor over a Ru/C catalyst has been studied experimentally with the aim of contributing to the understanding of the HDO reaction and its effect on the physicochemical properties of the organic liquid fraction obtained. Moreover, the effect of the catalyst loading ratio used in the HDO treatment and a previous stabilization stage carried out at 250 °C have also been assessed. Under the studied operational conditions, reactions of decarboxylation, HDO, polymerization, decarbonylation, methanation, demethylation, and pyrolytic lignin depolymerization took place during the HDO process. In these experiments, O was removed from the bio-oil mainly in the form of CO2 (15-26 g of CO2textperiodcentered100 g-1 of dry bio-oil) and also as H2O (1.8-5.8 g of H2Otextperiodcentered100 g-1 of dry bio-oil). The consumption of H2 was between 0.75 and 1.0 gtextperiodcentered100 g-1 of dry bio-oil. A comparison of the physicochemical properties of the raw bio-oil and the HDO organic phases shows that the major effects of HDO are a reduction in the O content from 34 to 13 wt %, an increase in the higher heating value (dry basis) from 24.3 to 35.5 MJtextperiodcenteredkg-1, lower polarity of the organic compounds determined by the significant increase in the hexane solubility, lower corrosiveness evidenced by the smaller total acid number and acid concentrations, and a marked change in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detectable compounds, increasing the presence of monophenols and cyclic ketones and decreasing the presence of levoglucosan, methoxyphenols, and furans. Electrospray ionization(±)-FTMS analyses of the raw bio-oil and the HDO liquid fractions show a widespread reduction of the O/C molar ratio of the compounds, an efficient deoxygenation and depolymerization of pyrolytic lignin, and a nondesirable increase in the range of molecular weights of the organic molecules after the HDO treatment.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil at 350 °C and 200 bar in a batch reactor over a Ru/C catalyst has been studied experimentally with the aim of contributing to the understanding of the HDO reaction and its effect on the physicochemical properties of the organic liquid fraction obtained. Moreover, the effect of the catalyst loading ratio used in the HDO treatment and a previous stabilization stage carried out at 250 °C have also been assessed. Under the studied operational conditions, reactions of decarboxylation, HDO, polymerization, decarbonylation, methanation, demethylation, and pyrolytic lignin depolymerization took place during the HDO process. In these experiments, O was removed from the bio-oil mainly in the form of CO2 (15-26 g of CO2textperiodcentered100 g-1 of dry bio-oil) and also as H2O (1.8-5.8 g of H2Otextperiodcentered100 g-1 of dry bio-oil). The consumption of H2 was between 0.75 and 1.0 gtextperiodcentered100 g-1 of dry bio-oil. A comparison of the physicochemical properties of the raw bio-oil and the HDO organic phases shows that the major effects of HDO are a reduction in the O content from 34 to 13 wt %, an increase in the higher heating value (dry basis) from 24.3 to 35.5 MJtextperiodcenteredkg-1, lower polarity of the organic compounds determined by the significant increase in the hexane solubility, lower corrosiveness evidenced by the smaller total acid number and acid concentrations, and a marked change in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detectable compounds, increasing the presence of monophenols and cyclic ketones and decreasing the presence of levoglucosan, methoxyphenols, and furans. Electrospray ionization(±)-FTMS analyses of the raw bio-oil and the HDO liquid fractions show a widespread reduction of the O/C molar ratio of the compounds, an efficient deoxygenation and depolymerization of pyrolytic lignin, and a nondesirable increase in the range of molecular weights of the organic molecules after the HDO treatment.
2017
Garcia-Nunez, J A; Pelaez-Samaniego, M R; Garcia-Perez, Martha Estrella; Fonts, Isabel; Ábrego, Javier; Westerhof, R J M; Garcia-Perez, Manuel
Historical Developments of Pyrolysis Reactors: A Review Journal Article
In: vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 5751–5775, 2017, ISSN: 15205029.
@article{Garcia-Nunez2017,
title = {Historical Developments of Pyrolysis Reactors: A Review},
author = {J A Garcia-Nunez and M R Pelaez-Samaniego and Martha Estrella Garcia-Perez and Isabel Fonts and Javier Ábrego and R J M Westerhof and Manuel Garcia-Perez},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines},
doi = {10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b00641},
issn = {15205029},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-06-01},
booktitle = {Energy and Fuels},
volume = {31},
number = {6},
pages = {5751--5775},
publisher = {American Chemical Society},
abstract = {This paper provides a review of pyrolysis technologies, focusing on reactor designs and companies commercializing these technologies. The renewed interest in pyrolysis is driven by the potential to convert lignocellulosic materials into bio-oil and biochar and the use of these intermediates for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and engineered biochars for environmental services. This review presents slow, intermediate, fast, and microwave pyrolysis as complementary technologies that share some commonalities in their designs. While slow pyrolysis technologies (traditional carbonization kilns) use wood trunks to produce char chunks for cooking, fast pyrolysis systems process small particles to maximize bio-oil yield. The realization of the environmental issues associated with the use of carbonization technologies and the technical difficulties of operating fast pyrolysis reactors using sand as the heating medium and large volumes of carrier gas, as well as the problems with refining the resulting highly oxygenated oils, are forcing the thermochemical conversion community to rethink the design and use of these reactors. Intermediate pyrolysis reactors (also known as converters) offer opportunities for the large-scale balanced production of char and bio-oil. The capacity of these reactors to process forest and agricultural wastes without much preprocessing is a clear advantage. Microwave pyrolysis is an option for modular small autonomous devices for solid waste management. Herein, the evolution of pyrolysis technology is presented from a historical perspective; thus, old and new innovative designs are discussed together.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper provides a review of pyrolysis technologies, focusing on reactor designs and companies commercializing these technologies. The renewed interest in pyrolysis is driven by the potential to convert lignocellulosic materials into bio-oil and biochar and the use of these intermediates for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and engineered biochars for environmental services. This review presents slow, intermediate, fast, and microwave pyrolysis as complementary technologies that share some commonalities in their designs. While slow pyrolysis technologies (traditional carbonization kilns) use wood trunks to produce char chunks for cooking, fast pyrolysis systems process small particles to maximize bio-oil yield. The realization of the environmental issues associated with the use of carbonization technologies and the technical difficulties of operating fast pyrolysis reactors using sand as the heating medium and large volumes of carrier gas, as well as the problems with refining the resulting highly oxygenated oils, are forcing the thermochemical conversion community to rethink the design and use of these reactors. Intermediate pyrolysis reactors (also known as converters) offer opportunities for the large-scale balanced production of char and bio-oil. The capacity of these reactors to process forest and agricultural wastes without much preprocessing is a clear advantage. Microwave pyrolysis is an option for modular small autonomous devices for solid waste management. Herein, the evolution of pyrolysis technology is presented from a historical perspective; thus, old and new innovative designs are discussed together.