PetroChina plans to develop second-generation biofuels
Despite the Chinese government's call to diversify away from grain crops for the production of ethanol (earlier post), several biofuel producers stick to using corn and wheat. Others are focusing on using low value, non-food crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes. Together with the State Forestry Administration, China's largest oil producer PetroChina goes a step further and plans to produce second-generation biofuels, made from ligno-cellulosic low-input feedstocks such as woodchips and straw.
The energy firm did not say how much the deal was worth, but by 2010, it hopes to have capacity to produce over 2 million tonnes of non-grain based ethanol a year, it said in a statement. PetroChina hopes to become a leader in the biofuels field, and also plans a 200,000 tonne per year plant for the production of synthetic biodiesel derived from bio-oil obtained from the pyrolysis of forestry waste biomass, the statement added.
Dedicated energy farms
In addition, the State Forestry Administration and PetroChina will jointly set up 40,000-hectare energy farms in the southwest, growing plants that can be used as biomass feedstocks. It was not disclosed which energy crops will be cultivated, but it is reasonable to assume that they will not be grain crops (most likely, they will be plantations of fast-growing short-rotation coppice trees or grass species). The farms will eventually be able to provide the raw materials for the 60,000 tons of synthetic biodiesel the country's largest oil and natural gas firm aims to produce.
Jia Zhibang, director of the administration, says that the energy farms, to be planted this year, are located in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, adding that the provinces of Hainan and Guizhou are two other ideal locations for growing energy crops:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: cellulosic ethanol :: biomass-to-liquids :: pyrolysis :: bio-oil :: Fischer-Tropsch :: China ::
"The resource is highly renewable, it doesn't compete for space with the forestry industry, it doesn't compete with humans for grains, and both the environment and the company can benefit at the same time," the statement said.
A growing appetite for bioethanol, driven by high energy prices and worries about energy security and global warming, has recently helped push up grain prices worldwide. Food security concerns and a shortage of arable land are likely to limit the amount of ethanol that can be made from grains even as demand grows, but cellulosic ethanol could make larger-scale substitution for gasoline viable.
Article continues
The energy firm did not say how much the deal was worth, but by 2010, it hopes to have capacity to produce over 2 million tonnes of non-grain based ethanol a year, it said in a statement. PetroChina hopes to become a leader in the biofuels field, and also plans a 200,000 tonne per year plant for the production of synthetic biodiesel derived from bio-oil obtained from the pyrolysis of forestry waste biomass, the statement added.
Dedicated energy farms
In addition, the State Forestry Administration and PetroChina will jointly set up 40,000-hectare energy farms in the southwest, growing plants that can be used as biomass feedstocks. It was not disclosed which energy crops will be cultivated, but it is reasonable to assume that they will not be grain crops (most likely, they will be plantations of fast-growing short-rotation coppice trees or grass species). The farms will eventually be able to provide the raw materials for the 60,000 tons of synthetic biodiesel the country's largest oil and natural gas firm aims to produce.
Jia Zhibang, director of the administration, says that the energy farms, to be planted this year, are located in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, adding that the provinces of Hainan and Guizhou are two other ideal locations for growing energy crops:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: cellulosic ethanol :: biomass-to-liquids :: pyrolysis :: bio-oil :: Fischer-Tropsch :: China ::
"The resource is highly renewable, it doesn't compete for space with the forestry industry, it doesn't compete with humans for grains, and both the environment and the company can benefit at the same time," the statement said.
A growing appetite for bioethanol, driven by high energy prices and worries about energy security and global warming, has recently helped push up grain prices worldwide. Food security concerns and a shortage of arable land are likely to limit the amount of ethanol that can be made from grains even as demand grows, but cellulosic ethanol could make larger-scale substitution for gasoline viable.
Article continues
Friday, January 12, 2007
German consortium tests new biomass gasification technology, obtains record hydrogen yield
In a first stage, the integrated gasification-cogeneration plant will be used for the production of green electricity and heat. In a later phase the production of synthetic liquid and gaseous (transport) fuels will be demonstrated.
Thermochemical conversion is a method to transform low-grade biomass types into a gas which can generate electricity in a gaseous-fuel engine or be used in fuel synthesis. Various conversion techniques are currently being developed, including pyrolysis (heating under exclusion of O2) and gasification (heating in special gasification media). The innovation at the ZSW concentrates on the water vapour gasification of biomass in the presence of a CO2 absorbent. The technology is based on an innovative step in a process called 'Absorption Enhanced Reforming' (AER), which was developed in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart and other European partners. During the gasification process, solid biomass is converted into a hydrogen-rich and carbon-oxide-poor fuel gas with a low tar content by means of integrated gas conditioning. Compared to other gasification processes, the AER technique yields gas with a much higher hydrogen content; pilot tests showed yields of up to 70% hydrogen, an unprecedented level.
This hydrogen-rich raw gas can then be made to follow several conversion routes: (1) towards the production of useable gases (biohydrogen, and biomethane that can fed be into the natural gas grid or used as a natural gas substitute in CNG/LPG vehicles) and (2) towards the production of socalled BTL (biomass-to-liquids), synthetic biofuels via a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of the raw gas:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: biomass-to-liquids :: BTL :: gasification :: absorption enhanced reforming :: biohydrogen :: synfuels :: Germany ::
The integrated gasification-cogeneration plant uses woody biomass as a feedstock. But, compared to conventional gasification methods, the AER technique considerably reduces the temperatures required for the gasification of biomass. This not only reduces the amount of energy needed to drive the process, it also allows for a much broader range of feedstocks to be used, including wet biomass. Large waste-streams from the agroforestry industry now become available: from grass and straw residues with low ash melting points, which weren't useable until now, to wet wood (leaves, shoots).
This advantage increases the bioenergy potential of the region and has caught the attention of large industries in Baden-Württemberg. Even though production costs and natural gas equivalent prices have not been disclosed, several industries have announced their interest in partnering with the further development of the technology.
"The decision of the regional government is a milestone for this innovative biomass-technology. Cost-competitive energy production in the future as well as rural conservation are served by it", says ZSW-director Dr. Thomas Schott. The government of Baden-Württemberg is currently negotiating with energy companies to find a suitable location for the pilot plant. But in all likeliness, it will be located in what is called the "Schwäbische Alb", a designated "biosphere area" with a large biomass resource.
Image: Pyrolysis reactor for studying the absorption-enhanced conversion of biomass.
Article continues
posted by Biopact team at 6:36 PM 1 comments links to this post