Nama : Muhammad Sultoni Hakim Yasin

Nim : 2204016166

Research progress of nano-catalysts in the catalytic

conversion of biomass to biofuels: Synthesis and application

Abstract

In recent years, fossil fuels have caused serious environmental pollution and will
eventually be exhausted. The development of sustainable environmentally friendly fuels is an
inevitable choice to ensure the sustainable development of society. As an extensive natural
resources on the earth, biomass is the organic energy pool of solar energy, which can be changed
over into various biofuels through various pathways, for example, biodiesel, biohydrogen, and
bioethanol. To improve the yield and reduce its consumption, catalysts play a crucial role in the
conversion process. However, traditional catalysts have various disadvantages. To solve this
problem, the development of nanoscience and technology has widely penetrated the field of
catalytic research, specifically, nano-catalysts. Nano-catalysts have unique nanostructures and
properties that ordinary catalysts do not have, which determine the high catalytic performance
and selectivity of nano-catalysts. At present, there are numerous methods to prepare nano-
catalysts, such as co-precipitation synthesis, hydrothermal synthesis, sol–gel synthesis, etc., all of
which have advantages and disadvantages. Hence, this paper summarizes the deficiencies of
traditional catalysts, and focuses on the application of nano-catalysts in biomass conversion to
biofuels and their synthesis methods. Meanwhile, renewable resources can be used in the future
to develop multifunctional and efficient nano-catalysts to improve resource utilization and
reduce catalyst usage.

Introduction

Energy is the foundation and driving force for the advancement of human civilization [1].
It is the material basis of human existence and has a particularly important strategic position in
economic development [2]. In the contemporary era, energy consumption accounts for most of
total consumption in all countries around the world [3]. Among them, energy substances
represented by fossil fuels not only affect the world political structure, but also relate to world
peace and tranquility [4], [5]. As an important material basis for human survival and
development, fossil fuels can burn and generate a large amount of heat [6]. However, in the
modern era of continuous development of industrialization, the non-renewability of fossil fuels
and consumption of them by humans have made fossil resources slowly exhausted [7], [8].
Moreover, the utilization of fossil fuels is likewise a major factor in ecological contamination
[9]. The consumption of large amounts of fossil fuels is the main source of global greenhouse
gas emissions, releasing more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every
year [10]. Karn et al. [11] quantified the number of premature deaths from ambient air pollution
from fossil fuel combustion using the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. The results show
that globally 10.2 million people die prematurely each year from the fossil fuel component of
PM2.5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations Guterres expressed that to maintain the
“red line” of 1.5 degrees Celsius, governments of all countries should re-evaluate energy
policies, reduce the use of fossil energy, improve energy efficiency and use clean fuels. He also
emphasized that if the emission reduction measures are not taken as soon as possible, climate
warming will cause many large cities around the world to be submerged, and will also lead to
“unprecedented heat waves, storms, large area of water shortage and the extinction of millions of
animals and plants” and other extreme phenomena. Hence, it is imperative to explore and
develop renewable clean fuels to replace conventional fossil fuels [12].

With the continuous expansion of industrial scale, fossil fuels are gradually changing to
renewable energy [13]. Renewable energy is a general term of energy resources that can be
continuously regenerated, continuously utilized, inexhaustible and inexhaustible in nature [14].
Renewable energy is innocuous or extremely harmful to the environment, and its resources are
widely distributed, suitable for local development and utilization [15]. According to the “State of
Climate Services 2022{\Prime} report released by the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, by 2030, clean energy power supply must
double to limit global temperature rise. Otherwise, the hazards posed by climate change may
damage global energy security and even endanger renewable energy supplies. Sustainable
environmentally friendly fuels refer to those fuels that have minimal impact on the environment
and can be continuously supplied. It can significantly decrease carbon emissions, reduce air
pollution and improve energy security. Hence, it is extremely urgent to extract renewable energy
from various renewable fuels [16], [17]. Renewable energy is classified according to the sources,
including solar energy, biomass energy, wind energy, water energy, geothermal energy, marine
energy, etc. [18]. In the case of removing the environmental cost of traditional energy, the cost of
most electricity, heat and liquid fuel products produced by renewable energy is higher than that
of products prepared by traditional energy, which greatly limits the expansion of market capacity
[19]. This has led to the rapid development of renewable energy resources based on biomass
[20]. Biomass energy refers to the renewable energy that converts solar energy into chemical
energy in plants through plant photosynthesis, and then converts it into heat and electricity
through different processing forms [21], [22]. The applications of biomass energy can provide
new solutions to the current problems such as global warming, environmental pollution and
soaring fossil fuel costs [23], [24].

Biomass is an extensive natural resource on Earth, with 100 billion and 50 billion tons of
terrestrial and aquatic biomass, respectively [25]. Among them, China is rich in biomass
resources, and the total reserves of major biomass resources are about 73.42 × 108 tons [26]. At
present, the main sources of biomass energy are discarded biomass such as crop straw, forest
farm branch and leaf waste, livestock manure, etc. [27]. However, for a long time, people often
use composting, landfilling, burning and other methods to treat the solid waste in biomass
resources, resulting in long waste treatment time and pollution of soil and water resources [28].
Hence, the use of biomass raw materials to produce biofuels has ushered in a new development
prospect [29]. Biofuel is a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel composed or converted from biomass raw
materials, and is a renewable clean energy [30]. In addition to replacing gasoline fuel, it also
contributes to the development of renewable energy [31]. The comparison of the use of
conventional fossil fuel and biofuel is shown in Table 1 [32]. There is no question that biofuels
can replace fossil fuels effectively [33]. To successfully convert biofuels, bio-refinery and bio-
transformation processes are usually used. The most important of these is how to increase the
yield and reduce the consumption in these processes, namely the problem of catalysis [34].
Herein, the paper summarizes a series of catalysts used for biomass conversion to biofuel.
Among them, nano-catalyst is the most promising catalyst in the future. It has a high specific
surface area and abundant active sites, which enable it to more efficiently catalyze the
conversion reaction of biofuels. Due to its high catalytic activity, it can achieve high-efficiency
catalytic conversion at lower temperature and pressure conditions, thereby reducing energy
consumption. This helps to improve the production efficiency and energy utilization efficiency
of biofuels Significantly, the preparation of nano-catalysts usually uses less catalyst raw
materials and lower reaction conditions, which reduces the resource consumption and
environmental pollution of catalysts. This paper focuses on its research progress in detail (Fig.
1). Furthermore, we provide a brief overview of the conventional technological utilization of
biomass conversion to biofuels and the limitations of current research. The future development
and research trends are also prospected based on the research status of synthesis and application
of nano-catalysts.

Section snippets

Conventional technology utilization of biomass to biofuel

Biomass is defined as any living organic substance that can grow by using the atmosphere,
water, land, and so on as a source of photosynthesis. Its internal components mainly include
cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Before conversion to biofuel, pretreatment steps such as
drying, softening and crushing should be taken to enhance the function of monosaccharide in
biomass. Hence, biofuels are mainly converted from biomass through thermochemical,
biochemical and chemical treatment (Fig. 2) [35]

Catalyst types for catalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels

Catalysts play a crucial role in the conversion of biomass into biofuels. It promotes
biomass conversion by reducing reaction activation energy, increasing reaction rate, and
improving product selectivity, thereby increasing its reaction efficiency and biofuel yield [51].
Hence, the technical research of catalysts is gradually becoming mature [36]. The most common
classification method is based on the homogeneity of the phase of the catalytic reaction system,
which can be divided into.

Applications of nano-catalysts in biofuel production

Different methods can be used to convert biomass into biofuels [61]. To improve the
efficiency and yield of fuel conversion, catalysis plays an important role in this process.
Although traditional catalysts have certain stability and are relatively easy for large-scale
production, they still have the disadvantages of low activity, serious side reactions, and waste of
raw materials for production. Some traditional catalysts may require the use of precious metals,
which greatly increases the cost.
Synthesis methods of nano-catalysts

In the application of catalysts, the catalysts have high specific surface area, high surface
energy, surface atoms, and the number and distribution of a large number of active centers,
which make nanomaterials show better performance than ordinary materials. Based on the high
catalytic efficiency and good reaction selectivity, the preparation process of nano-catalysts is
very important, which directly affects the microstructure and catalytic performance of the
catalysts [119]. The common

Conclusions and future perspectives

The increasing depletion of fossil fuels and improvement of people's awareness of

environmental protection have greatly accelerated the pace of research and development of
sustainable and environmentally friendly fuels around the world. Biomass energy is renewable
energy, because it is converted from solar energy, on condition that the sun is not extinguished,
biomass energy will be inexhaustible. Biomass energy is also considered to be the only kind of
solar energy that can be stored and has.

Pendahuluan

Energi merupakan landasan dan penggerak kemajuan peradaban manusia. Diantaranya, substansi
energi yang diwakili oleh bahan bakar fosil tidak hanya berdampak pada struktur politik dunia,
namun juga berkaitan dengan perdamaian dan ketenangan dunia. Sekretaris Jenderal Perserikatan
Bangsa-Bangsa Guterres menyatakan bahwa untuk mempertahankan “garis merah” 1,5 derajat
Celcius, pemerintah semua negara harus mengevaluasi kembali kebijakan energi, mengurangi
penggunaan energi fosil, meningkatkan efisiensi energi dan menggunakan bahan bakar ramah
lingkungan. Dengan terus berkembangnya skala industri, bahan bakar fosil secara bertahap
beralih ke energi terbarukan.

Energi terbarukan adalah istilah umum sumber daya energi yang dapat terus diperbaharui,
dimanfaatkan terus menerus, sifatnya tidak habis-habisnya dan tidak akan habis. Energi
terbarukan tidak berbahaya atau sangat berbahaya bagi lingkungan, dan sumber dayanya tersebar
luas, cocok untuk pengembangan dan pemanfaatan lokal. Menurut laporan “State of Climate
Services 2022 yang dirilis oleh Organisasi Meteorologi Dunia, sebuah badan khusus Perserikatan
Bangsa-Bangsa, pada tahun 2030, pasokan listrik energi ramah lingkungan harus berlipat ganda
untuk membatasi kenaikan suhu global. Jika tidak, bahaya yang ditimbulkan oleh perubahan
iklim dapat merusak ketahanan energi global dan bahkan membahayakan pasokan energi
terbarukan.
Hal ini dapat secara signifikan mengurangi emisi karbon, mengurangi polusi udara, dan
meningkatkan keamanan energi. Oleh karena itu, sangat mendesak untuk mengekstraksi energi
terbarukan dari berbagai bahan bakar terbarukan. Energi terbarukan diklasifikasikan menurut
sumbernya, antara lain energi matahari, energi biomassa, energi angin, energi air, energi panas
bumi, energi kelautan, dll. Dalam hal menghilangkan dampak lingkungan dari energi tradisional,
biaya sebagian besar produk listrik, panas, dan bahan bakar cair yang dihasilkan oleh energi
terbarukan lebih tinggi dibandingkan produk yang dibuat dengan energi tradisional, sehingga
sangat membatasi perluasan kapasitas pasar.

Hal ini menyebabkan pesatnya perkembangan sumber energi terbarukan berbasis

biomassa. Energi biomassa mengacu pada energi terbarukan yang mengubah energi matahari
menjadi energi kimia pada tanaman melalui fotosintesis tanaman, dan kemudian mengubahnya
menjadi panas dan listrik melalui berbagai bentuk pemrosesan. Penerapan energi biomassa dapat
memberikan solusi baru terhadap permasalahan saat ini seperti pemanasan global, pencemaran
lingkungan dan melonjaknya harga bahan bakar fosil. Saat ini, sumber utama energi biomassa
adalah biomassa yang dibuang seperti jerami tanaman, sisa ranting dan daun pertanian hutan,
kotoran ternak, dll.

Biofuel adalah bahan bakar padat, cair atau gas yang disusun atau diubah dari bahan baku
biomassa, dan merupakan energi bersih terbarukan. Selain menggantikan bahan bakar bensin,
juga berkontribusi terhadap pengembangan energi terbarukan. Karena aktivitas katalitiknya yang
tinggi, ia dapat mencapai konversi katalitik efisiensi tinggi pada kondisi suhu dan tekanan yang
lebih rendah, sehingga mengurangi konsumsi energi. Hal ini membantu meningkatkan efisiensi
produksi dan efisiensi pemanfaatan energi biofuel. Secara signifikan, persiapan katalis nano
biasanya menggunakan lebih sedikit bahan baku katalis dan kondisi reaksi yang lebih rendah,
sehingga mengurangi konsumsi sumber daya dan pencemaran lingkungan dari katalis.

Pemanfaatan teknologi konvensional biomassa menjadi biofuel

Biomassa didefinisikan sebagai zat organik hidup apa pun yang dapat tumbuh dengan
memanfaatkan atmosfer, air, tanah, dan sebagainya sebagai sumber fotosintesis.

Jenis katalis untuk konversi katalitik biomassa menjadi biofuel

Katalis memainkan peran penting dalam konversi biomassa menjadi biofuel. Hal ini mendorong
konversi biomassa dengan mengurangi energi aktivasi reaksi, meningkatkan laju reaksi, dan
meningkatkan selektivitas produk, sehingga meningkatkan efisiensi reaksi dan hasil biofuel.

Metode sintesis katalis nano

Dalam penerapan katalis, katalis memiliki luas permukaan spesifik yang tinggi, energi
permukaan yang tinggi, atom permukaan, serta jumlah dan distribusi pusat aktif yang banyak,
sehingga bahan nano menunjukkan kinerja yang lebih baik dibandingkan bahan biasa.

Kesimpulan dan perspektif masa depan

Energi biomassa merupakan energi terbarukan, karena dikonversi dari energi matahari, dengan
syarat matahari tidak padam maka energi biomassa tidak akan pernah habis. Energi biomassa
juga dianggap sebagai satu-satunya jenis energi matahari yang dapat disimpan dan dimiliki.

Sumber; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016236123022081