Chinese scientists make breakthrough turning waste biomass to bio-oil
Quicknote bioenergy science
Yesterday we said breakthroughs in green chemistry and bioconversion technologies are speeding up. Today, The Hindu reports that Chinese scientists have claimed to have made a breakthrough in reducing the cost of converting crop stalks, chaff and sawdust into bio-oil, a biofuel with the same properties as (heavy) diesel.
Bio-oil produced with the scientists' technology is 56.8 per cent cheaper than diesel oil and 39.1 per cent cheaper than heavy oil, said Professor Guo Qingxiang of University of Science and Technology. However, that bio-oil only produces two-fifths of heat from the same amount of diesel oil and only half that of heavy oil, Guo said.
This news is fascinating, because the vision of turning residue biomass, waste-streams from agriculture and forestry, into useable liquid fuels comes a step closer.
This story continues:
The technology, which can produce over six kg of bio-oil from 10 kg of sawdust and five kg from stalks, has passed appraisals by provincial department of science and technology, Guo said. Producing one tonne of bio-oil in the Chinese lab only costs about USD 100. The lab also invented a machine that can process 120 kg of biomass per hour, Xinhua news agency said.
Globally research has been continuing from the 1980's on the process known as pyrolysis liquefaction technologies- that decompose biomass using heat which then turns it into liquid. The high cost has prevented scientists from making an economically feasible energy product.
"The Chinese government will subsidise the application of the lab's technologies," an official has said.
Traditionally, over 700 million tons of stalk and chaff left over from harvest every year is burned, causing not only pollution but also a huge waste of energy, Guo said.
Bio-oil can be used directly in heating boilers and as fuel for motor vehicles after further refining. Ethanol can also be extracted from bio-oil.
Source: The Hindu.
Article continues
Yesterday we said breakthroughs in green chemistry and bioconversion technologies are speeding up. Today, The Hindu reports that Chinese scientists have claimed to have made a breakthrough in reducing the cost of converting crop stalks, chaff and sawdust into bio-oil, a biofuel with the same properties as (heavy) diesel.
Bio-oil produced with the scientists' technology is 56.8 per cent cheaper than diesel oil and 39.1 per cent cheaper than heavy oil, said Professor Guo Qingxiang of University of Science and Technology. However, that bio-oil only produces two-fifths of heat from the same amount of diesel oil and only half that of heavy oil, Guo said.
This news is fascinating, because the vision of turning residue biomass, waste-streams from agriculture and forestry, into useable liquid fuels comes a step closer.
This story continues:
The technology, which can produce over six kg of bio-oil from 10 kg of sawdust and five kg from stalks, has passed appraisals by provincial department of science and technology, Guo said. Producing one tonne of bio-oil in the Chinese lab only costs about USD 100. The lab also invented a machine that can process 120 kg of biomass per hour, Xinhua news agency said.
Globally research has been continuing from the 1980's on the process known as pyrolysis liquefaction technologies- that decompose biomass using heat which then turns it into liquid. The high cost has prevented scientists from making an economically feasible energy product.
"The Chinese government will subsidise the application of the lab's technologies," an official has said.
Traditionally, over 700 million tons of stalk and chaff left over from harvest every year is burned, causing not only pollution but also a huge waste of energy, Guo said.
Bio-oil can be used directly in heating boilers and as fuel for motor vehicles after further refining. Ethanol can also be extracted from bio-oil.
Source: The Hindu.
Article continues
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Japanese scientists succeed in continuous synthesis of diesel through wood gasification
This new process removes the need for a cooling process, heat recovery, and compression of gas, which makes it attractive for application in compact and portable plants making use of widely available woody biomass.
In short:
- The first successful continuous synthesis of diesel fuel through gasification from wood in Japan.
- Simpler and more efficient processes than traditional ones, which can be used in compact and portable plants.
- Reduces emission of carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming prevention.
To reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, it is imperative to actively promote the use of renewable energy sources such as biomass. The level of carbon fixation by solar energy is especially high in the case of woody biomass, so it is important to find economically sound technologies that allow the use of the highly available biomass composed of unused wood, timber cuts, construction waste, etc.In addition, liquid fuel from biomass is useful for reduction of SPM (suspended particulate matters) and sulfur oxide, contributing to environmental conservation.
Concerning the synthesis of liquid fuel by way of gasification, liquid fuel production from natural gas containing methane as the main component (GTL) has developed into a promising fuel manufacturing technology. However, it is necessary to further develop the technology in order to match the costs to those for diesel production from petroleum.
In addition, biomass resources such as wood materials are usually found dispersed in mountainous regions and are difficult to collect, raising the production costs. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to design a system for application in compact and portable plants which is available on-site.
The Biomass Technology Research Center (BTRC) was established in October 2005 as a base for biomass research in the AIST. The two main research topics at the BTRC are developments of bio-ethanol production technology centered on saccharification of woody biomass, and of technology for liquid fuel synthesis through gasification. In pursuing these two central research topics, the BTRC aims at developing practical biomass conversion processes that are sufficiently cost efficient to promote the substitution of fossil resources centered around petroleum and to contribute to the establishment of an energy recycling society.
Concerning diesel fuel, the BTRC has tackled research on topics with high potential such as the utilization of clean gas conversion technologies and catalysis technologies.
1) Production of synthetic gas (carbon monoxide/hydrogen) by biomass gasification at high temperature (800- 900ºC) and high pressure (several MPa).
2) Hot gas cleaning for removal of tar, sulfur and other minute impurities.
3) Synthesis of liquid fuel from synthetic gas using FT synthesis catalysts.
The gasification process is carried out at high temperature (800-900 ºC) and high pressure (several MPa), removing the need for use of compressors or compression power. Gas cleaning is carried out through a dry refining process that uses active carbon, instead of the traditional wet method that utilizes water, increasing the gasification heat efficiency. As a result, it was possible to produce equipment with compact dimensions.
The main features of the equipment are the efficient use of heat which increases the energy efficiency, and the removal of the compression process which reduces the power requirements.
Article continues
posted by Biopact team at 7:10 PM 0 comments links to this post