Fuel production from biomass

Improvements of the economics of fuel production from biomass, since the electricity generated as a by-product can be used or sold and so reduce production costs dramatically. 

By operating an air-blown, fluidized-bed reactor at about 590 to 600°C, Biocarbons Corporation has been able to produce a water-insoluble liquid product that is phenolic in nature. While product yields are lower than for fast pyrolysis processes designed to maximize liquid fuel production from biomass, the selectivity is 100% no further product separation is required before the oil can be used to make adhesive. 

The problems inherently connected with the production of liquid transportation fuels from biomass are, the amount of available biomass and the relatively low value of fuels. Fuel production from biomass should be limited to applications for which substitution is not a feasible alternative. This is, for example, the case for aviation and maybe marine traffic. Many other forms of traffic can be more and more shifted to electric or other energy forms, for example, to batteries or fuel cells. Clearly, this requires an overall modification of the current transportation infrastructure and a general reconsideration of transportation, which will take time. 

Furnsitm S. Outwitting the Dilemma of Scale Cost and Energy Efficient Scale-Down of the Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Production from Biomass. Saarbrucken, Germany VDM Verlag Dr. Muller 2009. 

Cost of Liquid Fuel Production from Biomass... 

Liquid fuel products from biomass through direct liquefaction and hydroprocessing... 

Ihe main drawbacks for a utilization of alcohols produced from biomass are to be found in the economic and environmental areas.There are problems of technical nature e.g. v at techniques should be used when cellulose-containing plants are used for ethanol production,vhich gasifier technology should be used etc. But analysing what environmental effects a liquid fuel production from biomass can have is of the outmost importance when an extended use of biomass for energy use is discussed. 

The means by which synthetic gaseous fuels could be produced from a variety of biomass sources are variable and many of the known gasification technologies can be appHed to the problem (70,71,76—82). For example, the Lurgi circulatory fluidized-bed gasifier is available for the production of gaseous products from biomass feedstocks as well as from coal (83,84). 

The development of bioreactor systems for the production of large-volume chemicals (see Chapter 3) could be the basis for reconsidering the production of biomass in limited quantities for fuel uses. This would require efficient microbial organisms to catalyze fermentation, digestion, and other bioconversion processes, as well as efficient separation methods to recover fuel products from process streams. 

In principle biomass is a useful fuel for fuel cells many of the technologies discussed above for using biomass as a fuel produce either methane or hydrogen directly and as highlighted below synthesis gas production from biomass for conversion to methanol is an attractive option. Cellulose-based material may be converted to a mixture of hydrogen (70% hydrogen content recovered), CO2 and methane by high-temperature treatment with a nickel catalyst. 

Studies of fuel production from various biofuels at a scale and cost representative of biomass fuel chains in various regions in Europe, thereby rendering realistic data for future production potential on a European scale. 

Both the production of hydrogen from coal and the production of oil from unconventional resources (oil sands, oil shale, CTL, GTL) result in high C02 emissions and substantially increase the carbon footprint of fuel supply, unless the C02 is captured and stored. While the capture of C02 at a central point source is equally possible for unconventionals and centralised hydrogen production, in the case of hydrogen, a C02-free fuel results, unlike in the case of liquid hydrocarbon fuels. This is all the more important, as around 80% of the WTW C02 emissions result from the fuel use in the vehicles. If CCS were applied to hydrogen production from biomass, a net C02 removal from the atmosphere would even be achievable. 

MARCHAIM, U., and CRIDEN, J. Research and development in the utilization of agricultural wastes in Israel for energy, feedstock fodder, and industrial products. In D.L.Wise (Ed), Fuel Gas Production from Biomass . Vol. 1, CRC Press Inc. Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 95-120, 1981. 

InterGroup Consulting Economists Ltd. (Winnipeg), Economic Prefeasibility Study Large-Scale Methanol Fuel Production from Surplus Canadian Forest Biomass, Part 1, Summary Report, Fisheries and Environment Canada, Environmental Management Service, Ottawa (1976). 

Ni M, Leung DYC, Leung MKH, Sumathy K (2006) An overview of hydrogen production from biomass. Fuel processing technology 87 461-472... 

Similarly to oil-based refineries, where many energy and chemical products are produced from crude oil, biorefineries will produce many different industrial products from biomass. These will include low-value, high-volume products, such as transportation fuels (e.g. biodiesel, bioethanol), commodity chemicals, as well as materials, and high-value, low-volume products or speciality chemicals, such as cosmetics or nutraceuticals. Energy is the driver for developments in this area, but as biorefineries become more and more sophisticated with time, other products will be developed. In some types of biorefinery, food and feed production may well also be incorporated. 

Hydrogen production from fossil fuels will continue for the foreseeable future, given the large resource and the established industrial base. Research is focused on improving the environmental aspects of fossil fuel use, and a number of papers address advanced hydrogen production technologies that reduce or eliminate C02 emissions from the production process. In addition, hydrogen production from biomass, a renewable resource with the potential for zero net C02 emissions, is discussed. 

Claassen, P.A.M., van Groenestijin, J.W., Janssen, A.J.H., van Niel, E.W.J., and Wijffels, R.H. 2000. Feasibility of biological hydrogen production from biomass for utilization in fuel cells. In Proceedings of the 1st World Conference and Exhibition on biomass for energy and industry, Sevilla, Sapin, 5-9 June 2000. 

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