Chemically processed biofuels

Chemically processed biofuels with clearly defined fuel characteristics allow for a technically easy and environmentally sound conversion into the desired useful energy. Such biofuels can then be traded easily and used with fewer problems to meet a supply task efSciently and comfortably. To ensure this, the following conversion routes are available (Figure 7.2). 

Second-generation biofuel technologies make use of a much wider range of biomass feedstock (e.g., forest residues, biomass waste, wood, woodchips, grasses and short rotation crops, etc.) for the production of ethanol biofuels based on the fermentation of lignocellulosic material, while other routes include thermo-chemical processes such as biomass gasification followed by a transformation from gas to liquid (e.g., synthesis) to obtain synthetic fuels similar to diesel. The conversion processes for these routes have been available for decades, but none of them have yet reached a high scale commercial level. 

Part IV, "Sustainability" (Chapters 13 through 18), deals with the topics of sustainable development, efficiency, and sustainability in the chemical process industry and a very topical topic, carbon dioxide (C02). The sense and nonsense of green chemistry and biofuels is expounded in this part as well, followed by solar energy conversion and musings on hydrogen in the final chapter of this part. 

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. 

The case studies cover key applications in chemical process industries, from petrochemistry to polymers and biofuels. The selection of processes was confronted with the problem of availability of sufficient design and technology data. The development of the flowsheet and its integration is based on employing a systems viewpoint and systematic process synthesis techniques, amply explained over three chapters. In consequence, the solution contains elements of originality, but in each case this is compared to schemes and economic indices reported in the literature. 

It is useful to consider two major forms of biomass fuel mechanically processed and chemically processed. For mechanically processed biofuel in which the material is used essentially in its natural form (as harvested) direct combustion usually supplies heat for cooking, space heating or electricity production, although there are also small- and large-scale industrial applications for steam raising and other processes requiring low-to-medium temperature process heat. 

To widen the market for woodworking products there is a great need for the implementation of a deep wood processing to form cellulose, activated carbon, valuable chemicals, and biofuels, because the transportation cost for... 

Process industries utilize a wide range of feedstocks to manufacture chemical, petroleum, gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, biofuel, food, microelectronics, metal, textile, and forestry products. Chemical processes exert some of the most profound impacts on the environment especially because of their ubiquitous nature and the importance of chemical products to our modem society (e.g., antibiotics, varieties of foods, energy, fuels, etc.). In recent years, environmental consciousness has been growing and has become a critical factor in the decision-making step of industrial processes. This awareness has led to the formulation of the concept of sustainability and sustainable development in the past century [1,2]. 

Liquid phase catalytic processing is a promising biorefinery process that produces functionalized hydrocarbons from biomass-derived intermediates (e.g., intermediate hydroxymethylfurfural or HMF). Renewable furan derivatives can be used as substitute building blocks for fossil fuels, plastics, and fine chemicals, ° or to develop biofuels based on C5 and C6 carbohydrates (sugars, hemicellulose, cellulose). Currently, Avantium Chemicals in the Netherlands is developing chemical catalytic routes to generate furanics for renewable polymers, bulk and specialty chemicals, and biofuels. ... 

Kreido Biofuels spent seven years R D in fluid dynamics in order to develop a novel new method of biodiesel manufacture, the result is their STT technology. STT (spinning tube in a tube reactor) is a chemical process intensification system which provides significant time and cost savings to the company. 

With the growing industrial interest in the production of biofuels, the most important areas that need attention and research seem to be (i) scale-up, (ii) cost efficiency, (iii) better fuel properties, (iv) norms and standards for producers and end-users, (v) environment health and safety issues in biomass io el handling, transportation and usage, (vi) encouragement to implement thermo-chemical processes and applications, (vii) efficient utilization of byproducts for value-added chemical or material production, and (viii) information dissemination. The biomass conversion process can be economically viable if used in an integrated manner for generation of other marketable co-products in addition to the primary biofuel product, thus contributing to sustainable development. 

Karmee, S., Lin, C., 2014. Valorisation of food waste to biofuel current trends and technological challenges. Sustainable Chemical Processes 2 (1), 22. 

Mechanisms related to cellulose-derived biofuels focus on the chemistry offuran derivatives. Beyond the unimolecular decompositions and oxidative reactions discussed previously in this section, furan derivatives can undergo a wide variety of other reactions. They are transformed by pyrolytic, hydrolytic, and other chemical processes to longer chain ethers (R1OR2) and aldols (hydroxyaldehydes and hydroxyketones, Ri(0H)R2C(0)R3). These oxygenated species are then converted through hydrogenation and deoxygenation processes to liquid HC fuels (alkanes). 

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