<body> -------------------
Contact Us       Consulting       Projects       Our Goals       About Us
home » Archive » Bioenergy_technology
Nature Blog Network


    QUICK NOTES

    Spanish company Ferry Group is to invest €42/US$55.2 million in a project for the production of biomass fuel pellets in Bulgaria. The 3-year project consists of establishing plantations of paulownia trees near the city of Tran. Paulownia is a fast-growing tree used for the commercial production of fuel pellets. Dnevnik - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Hungary's BHD Hõerõmû Zrt. is to build a 35 billion Forint (€138/US$182 million) commercial biomass-fired power plant with a maximum output of 49.9 MW in Szerencs (northeast Hungary). Portfolio.hu - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Tonight at 9pm, BBC Two will be showing a program on geo-engineering techniques to 'save' the planet from global warming. Five of the world's top scientists propose five radical scientific inventions which could stop climate change dead in its tracks. The ideas include: a giant sunshade in space to filter out the sun's rays and help cool us down; forests of artificial trees that would breath in carbon dioxide and stop the green house effect and a fleet futuristic yachts that will shoot salt water into the clouds thickening them and cooling the planet. BBC News - Feb. 19, 2007.

    Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, is planning to open a biodiesel plant in Indonesia with Wilmar International Ltd. this year and a wholly owned biodiesel plant in Brazil before July, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The Brazil plant is expected to be the nation's largest, the paper said. Worldwide, the company projects a fourfold rise in biodiesel production over the next five years. ADM was not immediately available to comment. Reuters - Feb. 16, 2007.

    Finnish engineering firm Pöyry Oyj has been awarded contracts by San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. to provide services for the first bioethanol plant in the Philippines. The aggregate contract value is EUR 10 million. The plant is to be build in the Province of San Carlos on the north-eastern tip of Negros Island. The plant is expected to deliver 120,000 liters/day of bioethanol and 4 MW of excess power to the grid. Kauppalehti Online - Feb. 15, 2007.

    In order to reduce fuel costs, a Mukono-based flower farm which exports to Europe, is building its own biodiesel plant, based on using Jatropha curcas seeds. It estimates the fuel will cut production costs by up to 20%. New Vision (Kampala, Uganda) - Feb. 12, 2007.

    The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to use 10% biodiesel in its fleet of public buses. The world's largest city is served by the Toei Bus System, which is used by some 570,000 people daily. Digital World Tokyo - Feb. 12, 2007.

    Fearing lack of electricity supply in South Africa and a price tag on CO2, WSP Group SA is investing in a biomass power plant that will replace coal in the Letaba Citrus juicing plant which is located in Tzaneen. Mining Weekly - Feb. 8, 2007.

    In what it calls an important addition to its global R&D capabilities, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is to build a new bioenergy research center in Hamburg, Germany. World Grain - Feb. 5, 2007.

    EthaBlog's Henrique Oliveira interviews leading Brazilian biofuels consultant Marcelo Coelho who offers insights into the (foreign) investment dynamics in the sector, the history of Brazilian ethanol and the relationship between oil price trends and biofuels. EthaBlog - Feb. 2, 2007.

    The government of Taiwan has announced its renewable energy target: 12% of all energy should come from renewables by 2020. The plan is expected to revitalise Taiwan's agricultural sector and to boost its nascent biomass industry. China Post - Feb. 2, 2007.

    Production at Cantarell, the world's second biggest oil field, declined by 500,000 barrels or 25% last year. This virtual collapse is unfolding much faster than projections from Mexico's state-run oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos. Wall Street Journal - Jan. 30, 2007.

    Dubai-based and AIM listed Teejori Ltd. has entered into an agreement to invest €6 million to acquire a 16.7% interest in Bekon, which developed two proprietary technologies enabling dry-fermentation of biomass. Both technologies allow it to design, establish and operate biogas plants in a highly efficient way. Dry-Fermentation offers significant advantages to the existing widely used wet fermentation process of converting biomass to biogas. Ame Info - Jan. 22, 2007.

    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited is to build a biofuel production plant in the tribal belt of Banswara, Rajasthan, India. The petroleum company has acquired 20,000 hectares of low value land in the district, which it plans to commit to growing jatropha and other biofuel crops. The company's chairman said HPCL was also looking for similar wasteland in the state of Chhattisgarh. Zee News - Jan. 15, 2007.

    The Zimbabwean national police begins planting jatropha for a pilot project that must result in a daily production of 1000 liters of biodiesel. The Herald (Harare), Via AllAfrica - Jan. 12, 2007.

    In order to meet its Kyoto obligations and to cut dependence on oil, Japan has started importing biofuels from Brazil and elsewhere. And even though the country has limited local bioenergy potential, its Agriculture Ministry will begin a search for natural resources, including farm products and their residues, that can be used to make biofuels in Japan. To this end, studies will be conducted at 900 locations nationwide over a three-year period. The Japan Times - Jan. 12, 2007.

    Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched an arrogant attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their attitudes to global warming, calling the Stern Review 'dubious'. The remarks illustrate the yawning gap between opinions on climate change among Europeans and Americans, but they also strengthen the view that announcements by US car makers and legislators about the development of green vehicles are nothing more than window dressing. Today, the EU announced its comprehensive energy policy for the 21st century, with climate change at the center of it. BBC News - Jan. 10, 2007.

    The new Canadian government is investing $840,000 into BioMatera Inc. a biotech company that develops industrial biopolymers (such as PHA) that have wide-scale applications in the plastics, farmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Plant-based biopolymers such as PHA are biodegradable and renewable. Government of Canada - Jan. 9, 2007.


Creative Commons License


Thursday, October 12, 2006

Finland opens biomass-to-liquids pilot plant for second generation biofuels

Scandinavia's leading R&D institution, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, has begun operating a pilot gasification plant designed for the development of competitive second generation transport biofuels. In the process, synthesis gas will be refined from biomass for the production of green diesel fuels ('synthetic diesel').

The extensive biomass-to-liquids test operation that is about to be launched will produce basic information for the ongoing design of an industrial demonstration plant. The gasification plant will be able to exploit any carbonous raw-materials, such as forest industry residues, bark, biomass from agriculture, refuce-derived fuels and peat. In Finland, the main focus at the moment is on exploiting forest industry residues and by-products without risking the supply of raw-materials to the forest industry. Because of the existing logistics, synthesis gasification is specifically being developed in connection with forest industry plants.

In theory, BTL-plants of this kind can be used in tropical countries with forestry industries as well, which is why the news is important to us.

The Finnish gasification test equipment is located in Otaniemi, Espoo, and represents the most advanced technology in Europe. The plant makes it possible for VTT and the industry to conduct joint research on completely new production technology. This will enable new business models for enhancing the competitiveness of Finnish industrial clusters. The production of liquid fuel in the forest industry or district heating power plants will be remarkably competitive because of its high efficiency and practical raw-material logistics.

After the pilot phase, the total cost of the development and demonstration phase will amount to approximately €300 (US$ 375) million. In this commercial plant, the estimated production costs of synthetic biodiesel will be 0.45-0.60€/litre (2.12 - 2.83 US$/gallon). In Europe, the estimated market for transport biofuels will be approximately 20 million tons after 2010, which corresponds to an annual turnover of €15 (US$ 18.7) billion:
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::


The gasification test plant in Otaniemi is one of the largest energy projects financed by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, Tekes. The project’s overall budget amounts to €4 million (US$5 million). Apart from VTT, the project involves the Helsinki University of Technology, Neste Oil, Foster Wheeler Energy, Andritz, Vapo, Pohjolan Voima and the large forest industry companies UPM, StoraEnso, M-Real and MetsäBotnia.

The gasification test equipment will be inaugurated for the three-year development program by Mr. Mauri Pekkarinen, the Minister of Trade and Industry.

VTT's Director General Erkki KM Leppävuori points out the importance of Finnish pioneering know-how in the fields of energy and environment. “Especially in environmental technology, Finland has been and, in all likelihood, will be the trend-setter in Europe. The gasification test equipment recently introduced represents another Finnish competitive asset both nationally and internationally. “

The commercialization of the gasification technology will be carried out in three phases. The output capacity of the first phase plant recently launched is 500 kW. The second phase plant, estimated to be launched in 2008-2009, will have the output capacity of 50 MW. This phase involves verifying the risk-free operation of the process. The third phase, from 2010 onwards, encompasses the construction of a demonstration plant which will be able to cover about three per cent of the transport biofuel demand.

According to VTT Development Manager Esa Kurkela, new production technologies will enable the reduction by half of the additional costs incurred for the national economy from the use of biofuels. Additionally, with the domestic supply of raw-materials, the share of bio-energy could amount to as much as 20 per cent by 2020.

Finland actively promoting the biofuel issue
Finland is committed to increasing its share of biofuels by 2010 in accordance with EU requirements. The Finnish government has therefore drafted a bill for parliament to consider that will see 5.75 per cent of all fuels are bio-based by 2010.

Finland is actively promoting the biofuel issue. The working group for transport biofuels established by the Ministry of Trade and Industry proposed the launching of a national development program in order to develop new Finnish production technologies for second generation biofuels, and to introduce new biofuels onto the markets by 2015. The working group report estimated an additional cost of EUR 100 million to be incurred from the 2010 commitment, with a 0.03€ effect on fuel prices per liter. The estimate is based on the first generation field-originated bio-components.

Photo courtesy VTT.

posted by Biopact team at 1:39 PM  

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home