Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs)

1. Which of the following technologies are used to convert biomass into useful energy forms?
a) Bio-chemical process
b) Galvanization
c) Doping
d) Photoelectric effect

2. What are the four main types of thermo-chemical processes?

a) Galvanization, photovoltaic effect, chemo-mechanical effect, pyrolysis
b) Pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, hydrothermal processing
c) Pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, doping
d) Photovoltaic effect, gasification, combustion, hydrothermal processing

3. What are the two primary processes under bio-chemical conversion?

a) Photosynthesis and respiration
b) Photosynthesis and photovoltaic
c) Anaerobic digestion and fermentation
d) Anaerobic digestion and photosynthesis

4. Which of the following is an example of physio-chemical conversion technique to convert

biomass into usable forms of energy?
a) Pyrolysis
b) Gasification
c) Anaerobic Digestion
d) Extraction with esterification

5. 5. Which of the following is a product of pyrolysis of biomass?

a) Producer gas
b) Steel
c) Agricultural residue
d) Sodium

6. Pyrolysis occurs in the presence of _______ oxygen.

a) large amounts of
b) absence of
c) extremely large amount of
d) low amounts of
7. Which of the following best indicates the process of gasification?
a) Biomass → carbon dioxide and water → producer gas and charcoal → carbon monoxide
and hydrogen
b) Biomass → carbon monoxide and hydrogen → carbon dioxide and water → producer gas
and charcoal
c) Biomass → producer gas and charcoal → carbon dioxide and water → carbon monoxide
and hydrogen
d) Producer gas and charcoal → carbon dioxide and water → carbon monoxide and
hydrogen → biomass

8. Which of the following is best suited for hydrothermal processing?

a) Forestry byproducts
b) Wheat
c) Corn
d) Sewage sludge

9. What is anaerobic digestion?

a) Produces biogas by heating the biomass
b) Produces biogas using micro-organisms operating in anaerobic conditions
c) Produces biogas by subjecting the biomass to high pressures
d) Produces biogas using micro-organisms operating in aerobic conditions

10. Which of the following are used to produce ethanol when water is not available in plenty?
a) Sugarcane
b) Wheat
c) Corn
d) Sorghum

11. Fermentation is aerobic process.

a) True
b) False

12. What is unique about the gasification agent entering in a fluidized gasifier?
a) Enters from bottom at a relatively fast rate as compared to a fixed bed gasifier
b) Enters from bottom at a relatively slow rate as compared to a fixed bed gasifier
 c) Enters from top at a relatively fast rate as compared to a fixed bed gasifier
d) Enters from top at a relatively slow rate as compared to a fixed bed gasifier

13. What ensures consistency of temperature in fluidized gasifier?

a) Gasification agent
b) Air-fluidized bed material
c) Biomass
d) Air non-permeable bed material

14. What are the three types of fluidized gasifiers used?

a) Single fluidized bed, dual fluidized bed and bubbling fluidized bed
b) Straight fluidized bed, dual fluidized bed and bubbling fluidized bed
c) Circulating fluidized bed, dual fluidized bed and bubbling fluidized bed
d) Single fluidized bed, dual fluidized bed and straight fluidized bed

15. How is the temperature maintained in a bubbling fluidized bed?

a) Biomass
b) Gasification agent
c) A constant ratio of biomass and gasification agent
d) Manipulating the ratio of biomass and gasification agent

16. What is the temperature range in a bubbling fluidized bed?

a) Between 700 and 900 degree Celsius
b) Less than 500 degree Celsius
c) Above 1000 degree Celsius
d) Between 100 and 200 degree Celsius

17. What are the two main units in a circulating fluidized bed?
a) Bubbling fluidized bed and dual fluidized bed
b) Bubbling fluidized bed and gasifier unit
c) Circulating unit and gasifier unit
d) Circulating unit and dual fluidized bed

18. Where can the ash and hot gas be separated in a circulating fluidized bed gasifier?
a) Gasifier unit
b) Circulation unit
 c) Tornado separator
d) Cyclone separator

19. What are the two types of entrained flow gasifiers?

a) Bubbling fluidized gasifier and dual fluidized gasifier
b) Bubbling fluidized gasifier and top-fed gasifier
c) Top-fed gasifier and side-fed gasifier
d) Side-fed gasifier and dual fluidized gasifier

20. Which of the following gasifiers is suitable for integrated gasification combined cycle
(IGCC)?
a) Fluidized gasifier
b) Fixed bed gasifier
c) Downdraft gasifier
d) Entrain flow gasifier

21. Which of the following is a component of tar?

a) Sodium
b) Benzene
c) Chlorine
d) Nickel

22. Which of the following is a product of biomass gasification?

a) Hydrogen
b) Steel
c) Carbon (solid)
d) Iron

23. Which of the following temperature ranges are suitable for biomass gasification?
a) Above 1000 degree Celsius
b) Between 500 and 600 degree Celsius
c) Between 700 and 1000 degree Celsius
d) Less than 500 degree Celsius

24. How is the biomass material and gasification agent fed into an updraft gasifier?
a) Biomass from top, gasifying agent from top
b) Biomass from top, gasifying agent from bottom
 c) Biomass from bottom, gasifying agent from top
d) Biomass from bottom, gasifying agent from bottom

25. The product gas removed from the low temperature zone undergoes _______ before being
used as fuel in combustion for electricity generator.
a) liquefaction
b) condensation
c) evaporation
d) cleaning

26. The tar content of the product gas in downdraft gasifier is _______ updraft gasifier.
a) equal to
b) less than
c) greater than
d) cleaner than

27. Which of the following are keys to design a gasifier?

a) Reducing biomass to charcoal and converting charcoal at suitable temperature to
produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen
b) Oxidizing biomass to charcoal and converting charcoal at suitable temperature to
produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen
c) Reducing biomass to charcoal and converting charcoal at suitable temperature to
produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen
d) Oxidizing biomass to charcoal and converting charcoal at suitable temperature to
produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen

28. What are the two main products of anaerobic digestion?

a) Biogas and bio-fertilizer
b) Waste water
c) Producer gas
d) Syngas

29. Which of the following organic compounds are present in biogas?

a) Butane gas and carbon dioxide
b) Methane gas and carbon dioxide
c) Nitrogen
d) Sodium
30. Which of the following are considered as contaminant gases in biogas?
a) Chlorine
b) Fluorine
c) Nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon monoxide
d) Methane gas and carbon dioxide

31. Which of the following products of anaerobic digestion consists of organic humus and
nutrients?
a) Biogas
b) Chlorine
c) Top soil
d) Bio-fertilizer

32. Which of the following are used to store manure?

a) Silos and cellars
b) Plastic bottles
c) Glass bottles
d) Tin cans

33. What are the three methods of pre-treatment of influent for anaerobic digestion?
a) Galvanization, pyrolysis and pre-heating
b) Mechanical treatment, pre-heating and thermal treatment
c) Galvanization, pyrolysis and thermal treatment
d) Pyrolysis, thermal treatment and pre-heating

34. Which of the following is best suited to decompose lignin?

a) Anerobic digestion
b) Fermentation
c) Thermo-chemical conversion techniques
d) Bio-chemical conversion techniques

35. Which of the following are types of pyrolysis?

a) Flash and ablative
b) Intermediate and anaerobic digestion
c) Anaerobic digestion and fermentation
d) Fermentation and intermediate
36. Which of the following produces a solid hydro-char?
a) Catalytic liquefaction
b) Carbonisation
c) Hydrothermal gasification
d) Hydrothermal carbonization

37. How many types of basic organic decomposition occur in Biomass energy conversion?
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5

38. Which decomposition process produces carbon dioxide and ammonia?

a) Aerobic decomposition
b) Anaerobic decomposition
c) Thermolysis
d) Thermal decomposition

39. Which decomposition process produces Carbon dioxide and methane?

a) Aerobic decomposition
b) Anaerobic decomposition
c) Thermolysis
d) Thermal decomposition

40. In what PH range does anaerobic digestion occurs at best?

a) 6.8 – 8.0
b) 0 – 5.0
c) 2.3 – 4.5
d) 3.5 – 7.2

41. Which amount is the ideal carbon-nitrogen ratio for the raw material into a biogas plant?
a) 30: 1
b) 20: 10
c) 5: 15
d) 1: 8
42. Below which temperature the action off digesting bacteria decreases?
a) 16oC
b) 35oC
c) 28oC
d) 0oC

43. Too nitrogen will cause ____________

a) Poisonous gases
b) Reduction in fertility of mixture
c) Reduction in quantity of mixture
d) Mixture to harden

44. How much percentage of solid content is present in anaerobic digestion?

a) 8%
b) 2%
c) 32%
d) 50%

45. What is ADP stand for?

a) Adenosine terra phosphate
b) NADPH
c) Adenosine pyrophosphate
d) Adenosine tri-phosphate

46. Product of anaerobic decomposition involves ___________

a) Methane
b) Lactic acid
c) Oxygen
d) Alcohol

47. Solid remnants of the original input material to the digesters are called ________
a) Ordure
b) Egests
c) Digestate
d) Manure
48. The places where the molecular oxygen is deficient but the organic matter content is high,
degradation occurs __________
a) anoxically
b) in presence of oxygen
c) in presence of water
d) in presence of organic pollutants

49. In absence of inorganic electron acceptor, the oxidized metabolite is reduced to ___________
a) Lactate
b) Oxygen
c) Sodium
d) Water

50. Which of the following bacteria are used to degrade the fermented products?
a) Methanogenic bacteria
b) Sulphate reducing bacteria
c) Carbon degrading bacteria
d) Hydrogen producing bacteria

51. In anaerobic conditions, the biopolymers cannot be degraded by which of the following
process?
a) Depolymerisation
b) Fermentation
c) Reduction of fatty acid
d) Biogas formation

52. Molecular hydrogen is produced during different stages of aerobic reaction.

a) True
b) False

53. Which of the following compounds is not produced during acetogenic stage?
a) Acetate
b) Carbon dioxide
c) Hydrogen
d) Dioxins
54. Which of the following methods is not included in the anaerobic degradation of cellulose?
a) Hydrolytic
b) Acetogenic
c) Fermentative
d) Pasteurization

55. At which pH does the protein precipitate?

a) 1
b) 7
c) 8
d) 9

56. Which of the following condition is not suited for anaerobic treatment of solid wastes?
a) Controlled temperature
b) Controlled moisture
c) Closed vessel
d) Open vessel

57. Which of the following type of waste is best suited for anaerobic treatment of solid wastes?
a) Readily biodegradable compounds
b) Less moisture content
c) Less degradable
d) High temperature content

58. The technological potential of the biological wastes has been fully exhausted.
a) True
b) False

59. Which of the following is the most important product of anaerobic digestion?
a) Biogas
b) Acetic acid
c) Amino acid
d) Calcium

60. Which of the following has less organic matter load?

a) Marshlands
 b) Marine sediments
c) Landfill sites
d) Fresh water

61. Which of the following is not an important step of anaerobic digestion?

a) Hydrolysis
b) Acidification
c) Methane formation
d) De-acidification

62. Which of the following causes decomposition of water insoluble biopolymers?

a) Hydrolysis
b) Acidification
c) Esterification
d) Methanogenesis

63. What is dry fermentation process?

a) Water content between 55%-75%
b) Water content between 85%-95%
c) Water content between 80%-85%
d) Water content between 0%-15%

64. Which of the following characteristics is not important to hazardous wastes?

a) Quantity
b) Concentration
c) Color
d) Physical or chemical properties

65. Which of the following is not an ill-effect of improper handling of hazardous waste?
a) Increase in mortality rate
b) Irreversible illness
c) Threat to the environment
d) Decrease in mortality rate

66. Which of the following is not a serious hazardous characteristic of the waste?
a) Toxicity
b) Ignitability
 c) Corrosiveness
d) Degradability

67. Which of the following is not a hazardous waste of petrochemical processes?

a) Tarry residue
b) Oily sludge
c) Slop oil
d) Vegetable oil

68. Which of the following is not generated in waste treatment processes?

a) Sludge
b) Ash
c) Organic solvents
d) Noise

69. Which of the following combination methods can be used to process the hazardous wastes?
a) Landfill
b) Solidification
c) Incineration
d) Chemical oxidation

70. What can be a hazardous waste in the purification processes for organic solvents?
a) Spent carbon
b) Methane
c) High water content
d) Less water contents

71. Which one is the largest (in volume) production of global liquid biofuel?
a) Bioethanol
b) Biodiesel
c) Biobutanol
d) Bio-oil

72. Highest use of Biomass in electricity only plants in continents in 2017?

a) Africa
b) America
c) Europe
d) Asia
73. Which source is the highest contributors of CO2 emission in the world?
a) Crude Oil
b) Coal
c) Natural gas
d) Biomass

74. In following list, which is not considered as renewable energy source?

a) Wind
b) Hydro
c) Solar
d) Natural Gas

75. Which sector is the world’s highest total final consumption of natural gas from 1971 to 2017?
a) Transport
b) Residential
c) Industrial
d) Commercial and public services

76. The major enzyme needed for the direct bio-photolysis of water is ?
a) Dehydrogenase
b) Hydrogenase
c) Phosphokinase
d) Nitrogenase

77. The building blocks for synthesis of commodity organic chemicals synthesis gas, the light olefins
ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX can be obtained from biomass feedstocks by which
conversion
a) Thermochemical
b) Biological
c) Biochemical
d) Thermal

78. can also used to synthesize cellulose butyrate plastics for textile fiber production
a) Acetic acid
b) Butyric acid
c) Propionic acid
d) Succinic acid
79. Ethanol is produced as a main product from which of the following biorefineries?
a) Syngas Biorefineries
b) Biogas Biorefineries
c) Sugar platform Biorefineries
d) Plant product platform Biorefineries

80. Anaerobic fermentation of organic matter present in the vinasse mainly produces ?
a) Methane and Carbon dioxide
b) Propane and Hydrogen
c) Methane and Hydrogen
d) Propane and Carbon dioxide

81. The internal rate of return is defined as?

a) Discount rate at which the NPV equals zero
b) Discount rate at which the NPV is greater than zero
c) Discount rate at which the NPV less than one but greater than zero
d) Discount rate is independent of NPV

82. Which continent have biomass as the largest renewable energy source?
a) Asia
b) Africa
c) America
d) Europe

83. Which content is most abundant in plant biomass?

a) Hydrogen
b) Carbon
c) Nitrogen
d) Oxygen

84. The main reactions during acid treatment are

a) the hydrolysis of hemicellulose and condensation and precipitation of solubilized lignin
b) the hydrolysis of lignin and condensation and precipitation of solubilized hemicellulose
c) the hydrolysis of cellulose and condensation and precipitation of solubilized hemicellulose
d) None of the above
85. The effectiveness of the alkaline pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide depends on
a) the amount of biomass to be treated
b) temperature
c) concentration of peroxide and base
d) All of the above

86. Polymers of cellulose in lignocellulosic biomass are interlinked through

a) Hydrogen bonds
b) Van der Waals bonds
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) None of the above

87. Reduction of particle size of biomass results in

a) Increase in reactive surface area
b) Decrease in Crystallinity
c) Increase in degree of polymerization
d) Both (a) and (b)

88. Which of the following can be identified as pre-consumer food and post-consumer food
respectively?
a) Commercial (agricultural waste) and institutional(cafeteria)
b) Commercial (cafeteria) and institutional (agricultural waste)
c) Institutional (cafeteria) and Commercial (agricultural waste)
d) None of the above

89. Following which process is not considered as microbial conversion process?

a) Fermentation
b) Anaerobic Digestion
c) Composting
d) Pyrolysis

90. In which phase of anaerobic digestion, biomass (consisting of very large organic polymers such
as fats, carbohydrates, and proteins) is converted into smaller molecules such as fatty acids, simple
sugars, and amino acids, respectively?
a) Acidogenesis
 b) Methanogenesis
c) Hydrolysis
d) Acetogenesis

91. Which process is related to "Humus"?

a) Acid Fermentation
b) Alcohol fermentation
c) Composting
d) Anaerobic digestion

92. The most important criteria(s) that needs to be considered for adsorbent selection is/are
a) Adsorption loading
b) Selectivity
c) Regenerability
d) All of the above

93. The main disadvantage(s) associated in the biodiesel purification by wet washing methods is/are
a) Emulsion formation
b) Drying of final product
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) None of the above

94. The lowest temperature at which the fuel still maintains its fluidity is known as
a) Cloud point (CP)
b) Pour point (PP)
c) Cold filter plugging point (CFPP)
d) Fluid point (FP)

95. The four main metals considered for FTS are

a) Iron, aluminium, ruthenium, and zinc
b) Aluminium, cobalt, ruthenium, and nickel
c) Iron, cobalt, ruthenium, and nickel
d) Iron, Tin, ruthenium, and nickel

96. The disadvantage(s) associated with acid transesterification is/are

a) slow reaction speed
b) high temperature requirement
c) difficult glycerol recovery
 d) All of the above

97. Lipids are in general soluble in

a) Polar solvents
b) Non-polar solvents
c) Both polar and non-polar solvents
d) None of the above

98. What is/are the advantage(s) associated with alkali pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass?
a) Removal of hemicellulose
b) Removal of lignin
c) Low temperatures and pressures
d) All of the above

99. What is/are the disadvantage(s) associated with dilute acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic
biomass?
a) Removal of hemicellulose
b) Increased accessible surface area
c) Little lignin removal
d) High reaction rate

100. Which One of the Following Is Incorrect About the Greenhouse Effect?

a) Life on earth is possible due to the greenhouse effect

b) Greenhouse effect is a natural process that maintains the earth’s temperature
c) More is the emission of greenhouse gases, more is the temperature of the earth’s
atmosphere
d) Increased emission of greenhouse gases is a natural process