Bio-fuels

A large number of possible applications of arrays of nanoparticles on solid surfaces is reviewed in Refs. [23,24]. They include, for example, development of new (elect-ro)catalytical systems for applications as chemical sensors, biosensors or (bio)fuel cells, preparation of optical biosensors exploiting localized plasmonic effect or surface enhanced Raman scattering, development of single electron devices and electroluminescent structures and many other applications. 

Yahiro AT, Lee SM, Kimble DO. 1964. Bioelectrochemistry. I. Enzyme utilizing bio-fuel cell studies. Biochim Biophys Acta 88 375-383. 

The European Commission wants to have a contribution of 12% energy from renewable sources to the energy budget within the EC in 2010. The relative amount of bio-fuels will increase to a level of 5.75%, this is more than twice the corresponding use of oil. The US Department of energy has set goals to replace 30% of the liquid petroleum transportation fuels with biofuels and to replace 25% of industrial organic chemicals with biomass-derived chemicals by 2025 [7]. 

Fig. 2.14 Manufacturing cost of bio-crude, bio-fuels and bio-power from lignocellulose (400 MW or 680 kt a-1, 2005).

Recently, Corma and coworkers [8] published an exhaustive descriptive review on the synthesis routes of transportation fuels from biomass, and Ragauskas et al. [9] sketched their vision on the path forward for bio-fuels and biomaterials. Furthermore, a review by Lange et al. [10] appears in this book. 

I.R. Richards, Energy balances in the growth of oilseed rape for biodiesel and of wheat for bioethanol, Levington Agriculture Report, British Association for Bio Fuels and Oils (BABFO) Jan. 2000 (http //www.biodiesel.co.uk). 

The bio-fuels industry development shows that transforming food into fuel could lead the world economy into the potential for social unrest, leaving the global economy in the hands of politics and not in the hands of the global market. 

We stress again here that in the actual state of the art, the EM of organic pollutants with simultaneous production of electrical energy (fuel cell regime) is not feasible due to the lack of active electrocatalytic anode material. Bio-electrocatalysis is a new active field and can overcome this problem as it has been demonstrated recently in the development of bio-fuel cells. 

Enzymes have been considered in bio fuel cells as anode electrocatalysts since their use avoids the problem of poisoning the anode with carbon monoxide present in reforming gas, allowing the use of cheap hydrogen-containing fuels such as methanol. Even though enzymatic fuel cells have been reported to have power output and stability limitations, some of them are currently being used to produce electricity to power small electrical devices with power demands in the order of micro- and milh- Watts as power output limitations are overcome. 

Yagishita, T., Sawayama, S., Tsukahara, K., Ogi, T. (1996). Photosynthetic bio-fuel cells using cyanobacteria. In "Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and the Environment World Renewable Energy Congress", vol. II, pp. 958-961. Pergamon, Elmsford, NJ. 

Bio-diesel differs from the term bio-fuel in that bio-diesel is conventionally defined as a bio-fiiel that is produced through frani -esterification of the oil or fat with methyl alcohol resulting in the formation of methyl esters (bio-diesel feedstock) and the byproduct glycerine. Bio-diesel can be made from animal fats, recycled cooking oils, restaurant greases, vegetable oils, marine oils, and others. The product has been produced in Europe for many years, and European development is more advanced than in the United States. Table 10 shows the relative production of bio-diesel in five European countries compared with the United States for three different years, 1997, 2000, and 2003 (29). 

American Bio-Fuels/ Adelanto, CA 10 million L/year Soybeans... 

An important aspect of biomass liquid (bio-)fuels can be produced from this renewable source [3]. This paper discusses installations for the combined production of liquid fuels and electricity and heat tri-generation. 

Para- meter Units Bio-Fuel Diesel U1 Design Modifications... 

Deactivation is not only a problem for oxidation catalysts in combustion of bio-fuel, also SCR catalysts used in biomass fined boilers are deactivated. Andersson et al. [8] investigated the deactivation of SCR catalysts in a couple of different large scale bio-fuelled boilers. The SCR catalyst works at lower temperature (not above 400 C). According to the authors, no loss of surface area occurs and the deactivation is explained by adsorption of gaseous potassium on acidic site of the catalyst. The catalyst can only be partly regenerated by washing m acidic solution. The reason for this difference between precious metal based oxidation catalyst and vanadium pentaoxide... 

Bio-fuel oil consists of a single phase mixture of water and organics. 

A composed photograph of the plant is shown in Figure 5, Not visible in the photograph are the two cyclones in series between the pyrolysis reactor and the condenser and bio-fuel oil recycle loop of the condenser. 

Figure 7- The bio-fuel oil yield versus the vapour residence time.

Rostock University used the bio-fuel oil from BTG in various end-user applications like a combustion furnace and a turbine. Results from both applications are presented hereafter. 

The combustion characteristics of the bio-fuel oil from BTG has been assessed in a 300 kW(th) fiunace at Rostock University. This combustion facility is depicted in Figure 8 and consists of a burner head, an bum out chamber immediately under the burner. Connected to the flame chamber is a horizontal heat exchanger segment and finally the exhaust flue gases are diluted with air to be released by the stack. 

From Table IV can be observed that the emissions from bio-fuel oil combustion are slightly higher compared to the emissions from diesel combustion. 

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