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.
Belgian, Dutch investors convert methanol facility into world's largest biomethanol plant; glycerol as feedstock
A consortium of Belgian and Dutch investors announces it has bought a methanol plant in the Netherlands to transform it into the world's first biomethanol plant, producing a staggering 1 billion liters (264 million gallons) of green petrol per year. This makes it one of the world's largest biofuel plants. The feedstock to be used: glycerine, the byproduct of biodiesel production which has sharply dropped in value because of the large quantities of biodiesel produced in the EU.
The investors Econcern (a European consortium of diversified green energy companies), NOM N.V., OakInvest, and engineers S. Doorn and P. Hamm, united as the BioMethanol Chemie Holding, have bought the plant in Delfzijl in the North-east of the Netherlands from Akzo Nobel, DSM and Dynea. The plant was taken it out of production a few months ago due to competition from oil-producing nations which use their excess natural gas to produce low-cost fossil methanol.
"In the coming nine months we'll make the necessary changes and after that it will produce only biomethanol, which will make it the world's first biomethanol plant of substantial capacity," said Chief Executive of BioMethanol Chemie Paul Hamm. Production will start at 100 kilotonnes of biomethanol, 100 million liters, and rise to 1 million kilotonnes soon afterwards, said Hamm.
The European Union demands that by 2010, 5.75 percent of its 50 million-tonne petrol consumption should come from biofuels, and Hamm said the Delfzijl plant alone can contribute 2 percentage points of that requirement.
The plant will use a new and very efficient process to make biomethanol from glycerine, a byproduct of biodiesel which is yet another kind of renewable green fuel made from oil-containing plants. The price of glycerol has dropped sharply due to the increasing production of biodiesel in the European Union.
More efficient than ethanol
Biomethanol can double as a direct in-blend and a replacement for the petrol additive MTB, currently used as a lead replacement, Hamm said. Biomethanol can also be produced from synthesis gas derived from biomass, and Hamm said the process to make biomethanol is several times more efficient than bioethanol, derived from sugar-containing crops such as corn and biomass. "It is a better, more cost-effective and certainly more environmentally friendly way to add bio-components compared to the usage of ethanol," Hamm said.
Aside from use as a transport fuel, biomethanol could also be utilized in direct-methanol fuel cells. These fuel cells, which might power the consumer electronics of the future, have received considerable R&D investments lately:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: methanol ::biodiesel :: glycerol :: biomethanol ::
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than ethanol (ethyl alcohol). It is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethyl alcohol.
Modern methanol production is based on steam reforming synthesis gas, itself most often derived from natural gas. The synthesis gas can also be produced from coal or light petroleum products, but today, most attention is going towards using renewable, non-fossile feedstocks.
The alcohol is used on a limited basis to fuel internal combustion engines, mainly by virtue of the fact that it is not nearly as flammable as gasoline.
Biomethanol fuel cells
Direct-methanol fuel cells are unique in their low temperature, atmospheric pressure operation, allowing them to be miniaturized to an unprecedented degree. This, combined with the relatively easy and safe storage and handling of methanol may open the possibility of fuel cell-powered consumer electronics. There are now plans to use the chemical in eco-friendly fuel cells for laptop computers, the cells will break down methanol via an electrochemical process.
The investors Econcern (a European consortium of diversified green energy companies), NOM N.V., OakInvest, and engineers S. Doorn and P. Hamm, united as the BioMethanol Chemie Holding, have bought the plant in Delfzijl in the North-east of the Netherlands from Akzo Nobel, DSM and Dynea. The plant was taken it out of production a few months ago due to competition from oil-producing nations which use their excess natural gas to produce low-cost fossil methanol.
"In the coming nine months we'll make the necessary changes and after that it will produce only biomethanol, which will make it the world's first biomethanol plant of substantial capacity," said Chief Executive of BioMethanol Chemie Paul Hamm. Production will start at 100 kilotonnes of biomethanol, 100 million liters, and rise to 1 million kilotonnes soon afterwards, said Hamm.
The European Union demands that by 2010, 5.75 percent of its 50 million-tonne petrol consumption should come from biofuels, and Hamm said the Delfzijl plant alone can contribute 2 percentage points of that requirement.
The plant will use a new and very efficient process to make biomethanol from glycerine, a byproduct of biodiesel which is yet another kind of renewable green fuel made from oil-containing plants. The price of glycerol has dropped sharply due to the increasing production of biodiesel in the European Union.
More efficient than ethanol
Biomethanol can double as a direct in-blend and a replacement for the petrol additive MTB, currently used as a lead replacement, Hamm said. Biomethanol can also be produced from synthesis gas derived from biomass, and Hamm said the process to make biomethanol is several times more efficient than bioethanol, derived from sugar-containing crops such as corn and biomass. "It is a better, more cost-effective and certainly more environmentally friendly way to add bio-components compared to the usage of ethanol," Hamm said.
Aside from use as a transport fuel, biomethanol could also be utilized in direct-methanol fuel cells. These fuel cells, which might power the consumer electronics of the future, have received considerable R&D investments lately:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: methanol ::biodiesel :: glycerol :: biomethanol ::Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than ethanol (ethyl alcohol). It is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethyl alcohol.
Modern methanol production is based on steam reforming synthesis gas, itself most often derived from natural gas. The synthesis gas can also be produced from coal or light petroleum products, but today, most attention is going towards using renewable, non-fossile feedstocks.
The alcohol is used on a limited basis to fuel internal combustion engines, mainly by virtue of the fact that it is not nearly as flammable as gasoline.
Biomethanol fuel cells
Direct-methanol fuel cells are unique in their low temperature, atmospheric pressure operation, allowing them to be miniaturized to an unprecedented degree. This, combined with the relatively easy and safe storage and handling of methanol may open the possibility of fuel cell-powered consumer electronics. There are now plans to use the chemical in eco-friendly fuel cells for laptop computers, the cells will break down methanol via an electrochemical process.
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