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Exploring the Utilisation of Natural Biosorbents for Effective Methylene Blue Removal (2023)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Williams, O., Samson, A., Kostas, E., Stevens, L. A., & Lester, E. (2023). Exploring the Utilisation of Natural Biosorbents for Effective Methylene Blue Removal. Applied Sciences, 14(1), Article 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010081

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the adsorbent capacity of five distinctly different biosorbents derived from untreated biomasses. The optimal adsorption capacity of seaweed (Laminaria digitata), horse chestnut husk, hazelnut husk, rap... Read More about Exploring the Utilisation of Natural Biosorbents for Effective Methylene Blue Removal.

Impacts of multi-pollutants on sulfonamide antibiotic removal from water matrices using layered double hydroxide sorbents (2023)
Journal Article
Johnston, A., Lester, E., Williams, O., & Gomes, R. L. (2024). Impacts of multi-pollutants on sulfonamide antibiotic removal from water matrices using layered double hydroxide sorbents. Environmental Technology and Innovation, 33, Article 103490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2023.103490

Remediation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) present in the aqueous environment requires the development of new advanced wastewater treatment technologies, crucial to reduce the toxicity of such pollutants to the environment, supporting urban water reuse. C... Read More about Impacts of multi-pollutants on sulfonamide antibiotic removal from water matrices using layered double hydroxide sorbents.

Thermochemical behavior of agricultural and industrial sugarcane residues for bioenergy applications (2023)
Journal Article
Guerrero-Perez, J., Martinez-Mendoza, K., Barraza-Burgos, J., Forero, C. R., Williams, O., Lester, E., & Gil, N. (2023). Thermochemical behavior of agricultural and industrial sugarcane residues for bioenergy applications. Bioengineered, 14(1), Article 2283264. https://doi.org/10.1080/21655979.2023.2283264

The Colombian sugarcane industry yields significant residues, categorized as agricultural and industrial. While bagasse, a widely studied industrial residue, is employed for energy recovery through combustion, agricultural residues are often left in... Read More about Thermochemical behavior of agricultural and industrial sugarcane residues for bioenergy applications.

Progress in lignocellulosic biomass valorization for biofuels and value‐added chemical production in the EU: A focus on thermochemical conversion processes (2023)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Parthiban, A., Umenweke, G. C., Musa, U., Williams, O., Mortezaei, Y., …Okolie, J. A. (2023). Progress in lignocellulosic biomass valorization for biofuels and value‐added chemical production in the EU: A focus on thermochemical conversion processes. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2544

The demand for sustainable energy sources has increased owing to environmental concerns, such as climate change, rising energy demand and rapid industrialization. Biomass utilization for bioenergy and value‐added chemical production has become essent... Read More about Progress in lignocellulosic biomass valorization for biofuels and value‐added chemical production in the EU: A focus on thermochemical conversion processes.

Sustainability of bioenergy – Mapping the risks & benefits to inform future bioenergy systems (2023)
Journal Article
Welfle, A. J., Almena, A., Arshad, M. N., Banks, S. W., Butnar, I., Chong, K. J., …Röder, M. (2023). Sustainability of bioenergy – Mapping the risks & benefits to inform future bioenergy systems. Biomass and Bioenergy, 177, Article 106919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2023.106919

Bioenergy is widely included in energy strategies for its GHG mitigation potential. Bioenergy technologies will likely have to be deployed at scale to meet decarbonisation targets, and consequently biomass will have to be increasingly grown/mobilised... Read More about Sustainability of bioenergy – Mapping the risks & benefits to inform future bioenergy systems.

A comprehensive analysis on the synthesis of value-added chemicals via slow pyrolysis: Valorisation of rapeseed residue, whitewood, and seaweed (Laminaria digitata) (2023)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Sudibyo, H., Kostas, E. T., Williams, O., Samson, A., Meredith, W., & Lester, E. (2023). A comprehensive analysis on the synthesis of value-added chemicals via slow pyrolysis: Valorisation of rapeseed residue, whitewood, and seaweed (Laminaria digitata). Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 173, Article 106093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2023.106093

Pyrolysis has emerged as a crucial thermochemical conversion technology in the field of biomass processing. Maximising the valorisation of biomass is an essential area of investigation, as it plays a pivotal role in understanding the economic viabili... Read More about A comprehensive analysis on the synthesis of value-added chemicals via slow pyrolysis: Valorisation of rapeseed residue, whitewood, and seaweed (Laminaria digitata).

Solutions to hazardous wastes issues in the leather industry: adsorption of Chromium iii and vi from leather industry wastewaters using activated carbons produced from leather industry solid wastes (2023)
Journal Article
Jimenez-Paz, J., Lozada-Castro, J. J., Lester, E., Williams, O., Stevens, L., & Barraza-Burgos, J. (2023). Solutions to hazardous wastes issues in the leather industry: adsorption of Chromium iii and vi from leather industry wastewaters using activated carbons produced from leather industry solid wastes. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 11(3), Article 109715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.109715

This study presents the use of an innovative material to tackle hazardous wastes in the leather industry. Activated carbons produced from Leather industry waste (LIW) were used to adsorb (Cr) III and (VI), which are found in leather wastewater. Two p... Read More about Solutions to hazardous wastes issues in the leather industry: adsorption of Chromium iii and vi from leather industry wastewaters using activated carbons produced from leather industry solid wastes.

Impact of dielectric substrates on chipless RFID tag performance (2022)
Journal Article
Ali, A., Smartt, C., Im, J., Williams, O., Lester, E., & Greedy, S. (2022). Impact of dielectric substrates on chipless RFID tag performance. International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1759078722001039

A five-slot hexagonal shape chipless RFID tag is designed, simulated, and manufactured on FR4 substrate. The designed tag's copper geometry was replicated on a wide range of dielectric substrate to quantify the impact on resonance quality factor (RQF... Read More about Impact of dielectric substrates on chipless RFID tag performance.

A comprehensive comparative study on the energy application of chars produced from different biomass feedstocks via hydrothermal conversion, pyrolysis, and torrefaction (2022)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Williams, O., Kostas, E. T., Samson, A., & Lester, E. (2022). A comprehensive comparative study on the energy application of chars produced from different biomass feedstocks via hydrothermal conversion, pyrolysis, and torrefaction. Energy Conversion and Management, 270, Article 116260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2022.116260

Understanding the suitability of different conversion technologies for different types of biomass feedstocks is crucial in delivering the full valorisation of different types of biomasses. This is novel research which presents an extensive comparativ... Read More about A comprehensive comparative study on the energy application of chars produced from different biomass feedstocks via hydrothermal conversion, pyrolysis, and torrefaction.

Biofuel characteristics of chars produced from rapeseed, whitewood, and seaweed via thermal conversion technologies – Impacts of feedstocks and process conditions (2022)
Journal Article
Gulec, F., Samson, A., Williams, O., Kostas, E. T., & Lester, E. (2022). Biofuel characteristics of chars produced from rapeseed, whitewood, and seaweed via thermal conversion technologies – Impacts of feedstocks and process conditions. Fuel Processing Technology, 238, Article 107492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2022.107492

Understanding the suitability of different conversion technologies for different types of biomass feedstocks is crucial in delivering the full valorisation of different types of biomass feedstocks. Optimal valorisation pathways can be identified by i... Read More about Biofuel characteristics of chars produced from rapeseed, whitewood, and seaweed via thermal conversion technologies – Impacts of feedstocks and process conditions.

The influence of mineral addition on the Optimised Advanced Ash Fusion Test (OAAFT) and its thermochemical modelling and prediction (2022)
Journal Article
Daley, P., Reinmöller, M., Williams, O., Pang, C. H., & Lester, E. (2022). The influence of mineral addition on the Optimised Advanced Ash Fusion Test (OAAFT) and its thermochemical modelling and prediction. Journal of the Energy Institute, 105, 121-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joei.2022.08.004

Specific minerals in ash are triggers for ash fusion during combustion. This study analyses, for the first time, the link between individual minerals and the ash fusion of pseudo ash pellets using the Optimised Advanced Ash Fusion Test (OAAFT) and Fa... Read More about The influence of mineral addition on the Optimised Advanced Ash Fusion Test (OAAFT) and its thermochemical modelling and prediction.

A comprehensive comparative study on methylene blue removal from aqueous solution using biochars produced from rapeseed, whitewood, and seaweed via different thermal conversion technologies (2022)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Williams, O., Kostas, E. T., Samson, A., Stevens, L. A., & Lester, E. (2022). A comprehensive comparative study on methylene blue removal from aqueous solution using biochars produced from rapeseed, whitewood, and seaweed via different thermal conversion technologies. Fuel, 330, Article 125428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.125428

This paper presents, for the first time, a comprehensive comparative analysis of the potential of using biochars from three distinctly different UK-sourced biomass feedstocks, produced via three different thermal processing techniques, to adsorb meth... Read More about A comprehensive comparative study on methylene blue removal from aqueous solution using biochars produced from rapeseed, whitewood, and seaweed via different thermal conversion technologies.

High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application (2022)
Journal Article
Ali, A., Smartt, C., Lester, E., Williams, O., & Greedy, S. (2023). High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application. International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies, 15(5), 742-752. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1759078722000745

The design of a low-cost, flexible, miniaturized and a high code density chipless RFID tag is presented as a solution for tracking the transportation of biomass fuel pellets. The performance of the tag is presented and demonstrates the applicability... Read More about High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application.

High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application (2022)
Journal Article
Ali, A., Smartt, C., Lester, E., Williams, O., & Greedy, S. (2023). High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application. International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies, 15(5), 742-752. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1759078722000745

The design of a low-cost, flexible, miniaturized, and a high code density chipless radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag is presented as a solution for tracking the transportation of biomass fuel pellets. The performance of the tag is presented a... Read More about High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application.

High Code Density and Humidity Sensor Chipless RFID Tag (2022)
Presentation / Conference
Ali, A., Williams, O., Lester, E., & Greedy, S. (2022, July). High Code Density and Humidity Sensor Chipless RFID Tag. Paper presented at 2022 7th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies, SpliTech 2022, Split / Bol, Croatia

This article presents a low cost, miniaturize, flexible, high code density chipless sensor tag. The tag is designed on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a compact size of 1cm radius operating in ultra-wideband, ranging from 3.5 to 16GHz... Read More about High Code Density and Humidity Sensor Chipless RFID Tag.

Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces (2022)
Journal Article
Williams, O. S. A., Daley, P., Perkins, J., Shah, S., Saavedra, E. A. G., Trujillo, M., …Lester, E. H. (2022). Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces. ACS Omega, 7(14), 11618-11630. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c06314

This study presents the application of a novel approach, using thermal and optical techniques, to identify the causes of poor burnout performance of Colombian stoker furnaces in the Cauca Valley State. The four coals used in these furnaces were chara... Read More about Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces.

Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces (2022)
Journal Article
Williams, O. S. A., Daley, P., Perkins, J., Shah, S., Saavedra, E. A. G., Trujillo, M., …Lester, E. H. (2022). Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces. ACS Omega, 7(14), 11618–11630. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c06314

This study presents the application of a novel approach, using thermal and optical techniques, to identify the causes of poor burnout performance of Colombian stoker furnaces in the Cauca Valley State. The four coals used in these furnaces were char... Read More about Novel Thermal and Microscopic Techniques To Determine the Causes of Suboptimal Combustion Performance at Colombian Stoker Furnaces.

Predictability of higher heating value of biomass feedstocks via proximate and ultimate analyses – A comprehensive study of artificial neural network applications (2022)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Pekaslan, D., Williams, O., & Lester, E. (2022). Predictability of higher heating value of biomass feedstocks via proximate and ultimate analyses – A comprehensive study of artificial neural network applications. Fuel, 320, Article 123944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.123944

Higher heating value (HHV) is a key characteristic for the assessment and selection of biomass feedstocks as a fuel source. The HHV is usually measured using an adiabatic oxygen bomb calorimeter; however, this method can be time consuming and expensi... Read More about Predictability of higher heating value of biomass feedstocks via proximate and ultimate analyses – A comprehensive study of artificial neural network applications.

Upgrading of Low-Grade Colombian Coals via Low-Cost and Sustainable Calcium Nitrate Dense Media Separation (2022)
Journal Article
Williams, O. S. A., Daley, P., Perkins, J., Martinez-Mendoza, K. L., Guerrero-Perrez, J., Mazabuel, L. M. S., …Lester, E. H. (2022). Upgrading of Low-Grade Colombian Coals via Low-Cost and Sustainable Calcium Nitrate Dense Media Separation. ACS Omega, 7(4), 3348-3358. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c05346

Wet coal beneficiation in Colombia is prohibitive due to the high cost and scarcity of commonly used dense media. The practical value of this study is that it demonstrates for the first time that a common fertilizer, calcium nitrate, can be used in t... Read More about Upgrading of Low-Grade Colombian Coals via Low-Cost and Sustainable Calcium Nitrate Dense Media Separation.

Hydrothermal conversion of different lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks - Effect of the process conditions on hydrochar structures (2021)
Journal Article
Güleç, F., Riesco, L., Williams, O., Kostas, E. T., Samson, A., & Lester, E. (2021). Hydrothermal conversion of different lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks - Effect of the process conditions on hydrochar structures. Fuel, 302, Article 121166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2021.121166

Five biomass feedstocks (Coffee residues, Rice waste, Whitewood, Zilkha black, and Lignin) were hydrothermally processed in a semi-continuous flow rig using 9 different processing conditions (75, 150, 250 °C, and 1, 50, 240 bar). Solid residues produ... Read More about Hydrothermal conversion of different lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks - Effect of the process conditions on hydrochar structures.