Posted on 04/30/2010 8:15:19 PM PDT by neverdem
Biomass-derived fuels take a step closer to solving the energy problem thanks to a new process developed by US scientists.
As fossil fuel resources continue to diminish, there is a greater need for developing new approaches for producing fuels from renewable resources. Solar cells and hydrogen fuel could provide long term solutions but the most immediate option is substitution of petrol with biofuels.
First-generation biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel have shown this is possible but they can only satisfy a small portion of the energy demands of the transportation sector and they also use edible biomass as a feedstock increasing competition for food sources. Consequently, second-generation biofuels derived from lignocellulosic biomass, that wouldn't affect global food production, have been suggested. But until now have only been used as blending agents in fuels, meaning that petroleum-derived alkanes are still the main component.
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Biomas can be transformed into long chain jet and diesel fuel
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Now James Dumesic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, and colleagues have developed a new process that produces renewable liquid fuels similar to existing petroleum-derived transportation fuels from levulinic acid - a product of biomass hydolysis. In Dumesic's process levulinic acid is hydrogenated to gamma- valerolactone, which is also used as a substitute for blending of ethanol in gasoline. Reaction with 5-nonanone upgrades gamma- valerolactone to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. This C9 ketone produces a mixture of C9 alkenes, which Dumesic oligomerises over an acid catalyst to produce longer chain C18 alkenes that, after hydrogenation, can be used as jet fuel.
'The major significance of this work is that it is an avenue for the preparation of hydrocarbons in the diesel fuel range (C18) from carbohydrate derived feedstock,' says Jesse Bond, a member of Dumesic's group. This view is shared by Rafael Luque an expert in renewable biofuels at the University of Cordoba, Spain, who comments, '[This work is] a very interesting and novel approach that has important potential for the production of different biofuels from alkene oligomerisation' and adds that he is interested to see how this process will develop with regards to complex alkene mixtures and other diesel-like fuels.
'The success of future biorefining strategies will depend upon efficient and creative utilisation of all biomass fractions to fill the demand currently met by petroleum,' says Bond. 'If levulinic acid and gamma-valerolactone can be produced in large quantities and at a low cost, there is great potential for these technologies'.
Production of liquid hydrocarbon transportation fuels by oligomerization of biomass-derived C9 alkenes
David Martin Alonso, Jesse Q. Bond, Juan Carlos Serrano-Ruiz and James A. Dumesic, Green Chem., 2010
DOI: 10.1039/c001899f
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Things like this would be much more useful if they included an estimated cost per hundred BTU’s with a comparison to the current feedstock and its cost per hundred BTU’s. I guess the experts don’t include that data because it sucks biomass.
kudzu?
Of course this is pie in the sky in the sweet by and by. Is this only a pencil product? Has it ever been benched? In 500 years or so it might be able to compete.
BTW, Has any one heard reason proposed for the oil platform explosion? Eco Terrorism??
barbra ann
This is just a synthetic pathway for otherwise wasted biomass that has no effect on the food supply. IMHO, you would have to set up a pilot plant operation to get any useful numbers.
BTW, Has any one heard reason proposed for the oil platform explosion? Eco Terrorism??
Why limit your horizon? Other members of the industry don't want more supply from off-shore production either.
Solar cells and hydrogen fuel could provide long term solutions but the most immediate option is substitution of petrol with biofuels. First-generation biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel have shown this is possible but they can only satisfy a small portion of the energy demands of the transportation sector and they also use edible biomass as a feedstock increasing competition for food sources.That's a load of crap. Of COURSE it doesn't. A switch (mandated either directly or indirectly, or due to another petroleum/OPEC price spike) to biofuels would cause a worldwide increase in production due to a little thing called supply and demand. It would also cause some virtual strokes. Regardless, thank you neverdem.
bump
The Gulf oil rig explosion – on the scene photos
Lots of detail...including pictures.
The production cost is the issue that kills most new chemical ideas. They are using levulinic acid as raw material. The price is USD2820/MT FOB Tianjin http://www.chinatopsupplier.com/d-p12496686-levulinic_acid_98_5/ that is USD 2.82/kg = 2.82*0.45/lb = USD 1.3/lb.
The density of petroleum diesel is about 0.85 kg/l (7.09 lb/US gal), about 18% more than petrol (gasoline), which has a density of about 0.72 kg/l (6.01 lb/US gal).
I have not made any further calculations, but it seems that it is a waste of money to process the levulinic acid.
Thanks AdmSmith.
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