IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i8p1956-d1632562.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental Research on Plasma Electrolytic Liquefaction of Microcrystalline Cellulose

Author

Listed:
  • Weidong Zhao

    (School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Wenjie Liu

    (School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Yi Sun

    (School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Junfeng Wang

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

Abstract

The efficient liquefaction of cellulose is a critical technological pathway for the energy utilization of biomass. This study constructed a plasma electrolytic liquefaction experimental system based on the principle of liquid phase surface arc discharge, systematically investigating the effects of operational parameters, including working voltage, catalyst dosage, solid–liquid ratio, and micro-arc polarity, on the liquefaction characteristics of microcrystalline cellulose. Experimental results demonstrated that under optimized conditions—anode micro-arc configuration, working voltage of 750 V, catalyst dosage of 1.44 g, and solid–liquid ratio of 6:38—the cellulose conversion rate reached 79.2%, with a liquefied product mass of 4.75 g. Mechanistic analysis revealed that high-energy electrons and hydrogen ions generated by plasma discharge synergistically act on the cleavage of cellulose molecular chains. Under the combined effects of the catalyst and plasma, cellulose molecules are depolymerized into small molecular compounds. Compared with traditional liquefaction processes, this technology exhibits significant advantages in reaction rate and energy efficiency, providing a novel technical route for the efficient conversion of biomass resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Weidong Zhao & Wenjie Liu & Yi Sun & Junfeng Wang, 2025. "Experimental Research on Plasma Electrolytic Liquefaction of Microcrystalline Cellulose," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:8:p:1956-:d:1632562
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/1956/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/1956/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mei, Danhua & Liu, Shiyun & Wang, Sen & Zhou, Renwu & Zhou, Rusen & Fang, Zhi & Zhang, Xianhui & Cullen, Patrick J. & Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken), 2020. "Plasma-enabled liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass: Balancing feedstock content for maximum energy yield," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 1061-1071.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhao, Bojun & Li, Haoyang & Wang, Haoyu & Hu, Yulin & Gao, Jihui & Zhao, Guangbo & Ray, Madhumita B. & Xu, Chunbao Charles, 2021. "Synergistic effects of metallic Fe and other homogeneous/heterogeneous catalysts in hydrothermal liquefaction of woody biomass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 543-554.
    2. Lin, Yi-Li & Zheng, Nai-Yun, 2021. "Torrefaction of fruit waste seed and shells for biofuel production with reduced CO2 emission," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    3. Mohsin Raza & Abrar Inayat & Basim Abu-Jdayil, 2021. "Crude Glycerol as a Potential Feedstock for Future Energy via Thermochemical Conversion Processes: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-27, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:8:p:1956-:d:1632562. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.