Biofuel production methanol

A more recent survey comprehending the biofuels ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, and biogas has been commissioned in 2007 by Swiss federal administration (Bun-desamt fur Energje BFE, Bundesamt fur Umwelt BAFU, Bundesamt fiir Land-wirtschaft BLW) in 2007 [25]. It not only covers Swiss production but also biomass... 

Capacity Limitations and Biofuels Markets. Large biofuels markets exist (130—133), eg, production of fermentation ethanol for use as a gasoline extender (see Alcohol fuels). Even with existing (1987) and planned additions to ethanol plant capacities, less than 10% of gasoline sales could be satisfied with ethanol—gasoline blends of 10 vol % ethanol the maximum volumetric displacement of gasoline possible is about 1%. The same condition apphes to methanol and alcohol derivatives, ie, methyl-/-butyl ether [1634-04-4] and ethyl-/-butyl ether. 

Many of the existing energy products are being used as fuel for the transport sector and are made from either petrol-based material or from renewable resources such as biomass by some kind of chemical process. The most common biofuels that are being used for transport purposes are dimethyl ether (DME), methanol, ethanol, butanol and biodiesel. 

One can envisage the future production of liquid fuels and commodity chemicals in a biorefinery Biomass is first subjected to extraction to remove waxes and essential oils. Various options are possible for conversion of the remaining biofeedstock, which consists primarily of lignocellulose. It can be converted to synthesis gas (CO + H2) by gasification, for example, and subsequently to methanol. Alternatively, it can be subjected to hydrothermal upgrading (HTU), affording liquid biofuels from which known transport fuels and bulk chemicals can be produced. An appealing option is bioconversion to ethanol by fermentation. The ethanol can be used directly as a liquid fuel and/or converted to ethylene as a base chemical. Such a hiorefinery is depicted in Fig. 8.1. 

For bio-energy resources, residues from households and food industry are available year roimd, and fresh biomass, whether harvested or collected, can usually be stored, so that conversion may take place at a time convenient for the conversion capacity or desirable from the point of view of users. The scenario use of biomass is primarily for production of biogas, liquid biofuels such as methanol or eventually hydrogen. 

Soybean oil is converted into soy FAME through transesterification with methanol. This product is an excellent substitute for diesel fuel with no engine adjustment required and no loss in efficiency (Knothe Dunn, 2005). Besides transesterification to methyl esters, other approaches also were explored for utilizing soybean oil as fuel. These are diluted with conventional petroleum diesel fuel, microemulsions (co-sol-vent blending), and pyrolysis (Schwab et al., 1987). A detailed discussion on biodiesel is provided in the Chapter Bioenergy and Biofuels from Soybeans, and also elsewhere (Knothe Dunn, 2005 Reaney et al., 2004). 

Bio-diesel, an alternative biofuel, is made from a vegetable oil that is extracted from the seeds of plants such as canola (rape plant), cotton, soybean and sunflower. This oil, which is used mostly in the manufacture of margarine, is reacted chemically with methanol to produce a methyl ester that can substitute satisfactorily for diesel fuel. Glycerol is produced as a by-product. Generally, up to 20 vol.% of bio-diesel is mixed with conventional diesel. Again, there is the problem of unfavourable economics. Bio-diesel is not yet fully cost competitive and the overall energetics of production, transport and consumption require careful evaluation. 

Bennett, R.K., Fast, A.G., and Papoutsakis, E.T. (2015) Synthetic methylotrophy engineering the production of biofuels and chemicals based on the biology of aerobic methanol utilization. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol, 33, 165-175. 

As outlined above, biomass feedstock can also be employed for the production of syngas and, thus, methanol produced from biomass-derived syngas and fuels obtained through processing of biomass-based methanol can be considered as typical biofuels. Blends with petrol containing up to 20% of methanol can be used in combustion engines without elaborate modifications. However, the comparatively low energy density and safety concerns have limited so far broad applications of methanol as fuel. Another option is the use... 

Just as the fossil fuel and petrochemicals industries are closely connected, the production of the same but bio-based chemicals will be closely related to the manufacturing of biofuels. The focus of commercialization by using biomass as a feedstock is mainly on ethanol, biodiesel, butanol, hydrogen, Fischer-Tropsch fuels, methanol, methane, and MTBEyETBE (methyl- or ethyl-tert-butylether). These products can be used either as biofuels or chemicals for further converting. In the context of this chapter, only routes for the ethylene and propylene... 

Currently, the attention is focused on the synthesis of both liquid biofuels - mainly FT-diesel products and methanol - and gaseous synthetic fuels such as dimethyl ether (DME) and substitute natural gas (SNG, which is addressed in this chapter) the main parameters (pressure, temperature, type of catalyst, H2/CO ratio) governing the different synthesis pathways of these fuels are reported in reference [4],... 

Karl et al. detected VOCs at the Mauna Loa Baseline Station in March/April 2001 and thought that the abundance of acetone seemed to be partly influenced by biomass burning and domestic biofuel emissions [91]. It was revealed that secondary production of acetone and methanol in fire plumes over the Mediterranean could also be thought as characteristic biomass burning signatures, and the emissions of 25-31 and 29-35 Tg/year for acetone and methanol were estimated, respectively [87]. 

Kawakami, K., Y. Oda, and R. Takahashi. 2011. Application of a Burkholderia Cepacia Lipase-Immobilized Silica Monolith to Batch and Continuous Biodiesel Production with a Stoichiometric Mixture of Methanol and Crude Jatropha Oil. Biotechnology for Biofuels 4 (1) 42. 

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