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Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Growing BiofuelsNew production methods could transform the niche technology. By Peter Fairley
Biofuels produced from plant and animal feedstocks are growing by 10 percent per year. Nevertheless, if biofuels are ever to supply more than a small percentage of transportation fuels, the technology will need new, more efficient production methods. The most recent sign of such investment in new methods of production is Royal Dutch Shell's partnership with German biodiesel innovator Choren Industries. Choren's technology addresses a key limitation with today's biofuels: most start as feedstocks such as corn syrup or vegetable oil, which are already in demand as foods. So competition for these feedstocks props up the price of conventional biofuels and, ultimately, even limits their production volumes. A study commissioned recently by the Canadian government, for example, concluded that diverting half of that country's hefty exports of canola to domestic biodiesel production would yield only enough biodiesel to meet 2.7 percent of current diesel demand in Canada. Choren and other biofuel innovators such as Canadian ethanol developer Iogen (also partnered with Shell) work instead with biomass -- organic leftovers such as sawdust -- which are as abundant as they are cheap. The same Canadian study, for instance, revealed that the biodiesel produced from just 10 percent of the country's agricultural wastes would satisfy 16.7 percent of its appetite for diesel. Choren breaks down biomass into a gaseous mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, then uses catalysts to reassemble this synthesis gas, or "syngas," into diesel fuel. Historically, Nazi Germany developed this so-called Fischer-Tropsch process to produce synthetic fuels from coal. Shell uses it to produce diesel from natural gas. Compared with coal and natural gas, however, biomass makes a troublesome feedstock. That's because it contains lots of large, complex molecules, and the same equipment that easily breaks down the mineralized carbon in coal chokes on the tar-like hydrocarbons in biomass. According to Matthias Rudloff, head of business development for Choren, the result is an impure synthesis gas that is unsuitable for processing. The tar "sticks everywhere, on every heat exchanger. Tubes become clogged in just a few hours," says Rudloff. But Choren founder Bodo Wolf turned the tar into an advantage. Wolf comes from former East Germany's combustion research institute, where he helped develop equipment to turn coal into chemicals, motor fuels, and electricity. He found that the type of high-temperature processes favored in East Germany were suited to tackling biomass. His key innovation, though, was to add a processing step at the front end.
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Biomass: Hope and Hype
02/15/2006
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
Guest (Steve Guenther) on 11/23/2005 at 9:47 AM
1
yield a high percentage of oil.
Here in Tampa we have phosphate runnoff that is
producing an over growth of all sorts of algea.
It would be great if our problem could provide
some opportunities for this technology.
Guest (Jim) on 11/23/2005 at 2:05 PM
1
Landfills to vehicle fuel: taming the garbage.
GM restructures yet again, cancels all giant SUVs.
Jack Daniels cheaper at the pump than gas.
Dick Cheneys ranch in Montana strip-mined for coal-to-gasoline pilot plant.
Gusher on Bushs ranch.
All are equally possible - if you get the idea.
Guest (Jonathan Shine) on 12/01/2005 at 6:42 AM
1
Jonathan Shine
jonathan.shine@drivelectric.com
011 44 796 111 6732
Guest (Bobby Emory) on 01/23/2006 at 12:00 AM
1
My favorite algae is CCMP647
Guest (Jim) on 11/23/2005 at 2:05 PM
1
Landfills to vehicle fuel: taming the garbage.
GM restructures yet again, cancels all giant SUVs.
Jack Daniels cheaper at the pump than gas.
Dick Cheneys ranch in Montana strip-mined for coal-to-gasoline pilot plant.
Gusher on Bushs ranch.
All are equally possible - if you get the idea.
Guest (Jonathan Shine) on 12/01/2005 at 6:42 AM
1
Jonathan Shine
jonathan.shine@drivelectric.com
011 44 796 111 6732
Guest (Em) on 11/23/2005 at 9:47 AM
1
Hopefully the Canadian gov. will smarten up and do something useful with the bio waste. If the numbers in your article are accurate, Canada could be using 100% biodiesel and export 67% more to others.
I ride the bicycle to work year-round and resent the Edmonton city busses that smoke my lungs every day, both ways.
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 2:10 PM
1
Setting up such facilities, ensuring zero emissions to the atmosphere, should turn waste disposal into a lucrative activity rather than the costly problem that it is now.
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 2:14 PM
1
Setting up such facilities, ensuring zero emissions to the atmosphere, should turn waste disposal into a lucrative activity rather than the costly problem that it is now.
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 2:10 PM
1
Setting up such facilities, ensuring zero emissions to the atmosphere, should turn waste disposal into a lucrative activity rather than the costly problem that it is now.
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 2:27 PM
1
Setting up such facilities, ensuring zero emissions in to the atmosphere, should turn waste disposal into a lucrative activity rather than the costly problem that it is now.
Guest (Erik Karl Sorgatz) on 11/23/2005 at 4:37 PM
1
have a look: http://www.changingworldtech.com/
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 8:52 PM
1
CWT (changingworldtech) and the associated company RES (Renewable Environmental Solutions) appear to be doing something similar but do not seem to be focusing on producing diesel as the german companies seem to be doing. Most people Most people (including politicians, investors and government officials)can relate to diesel better than they can to oil and other chemical product streams.
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 8:52 PM
1
CWT (changingworldtech) and the associated company RES (Renewable Environmental Solutions) appear to be doing something similar but do not seem to be focusing on producing diesel as the german companies seem to be doing. Most people Most people (including politicians, investors and government officials)can relate to diesel better than they can to oil and other chemical product streams.
Guest (Erik Karl Sorgatz) on 11/23/2005 at 4:37 PM
1
have a look: http://www.changingworldtech.com/
Guest (Steve Guenther) on 11/23/2005 at 9:47 AM
1
yield a high percentage of oil.
Here in Tampa we have phosphate runnoff that is
producing an over growth of all sorts of algea.
It would be great if our problem could provide
some opportunities for this technology.
Guest (Em) on 11/23/2005 at 9:47 AM
1
Hopefully the Canadian gov. will smarten up and do something useful with the bio waste. If the numbers in your article are accurate, Canada could be using 100% biodiesel and export 67% more to others.
I ride the bicycle to work year-round and resent the Edmonton city busses that smoke my lungs every day, both ways.
Guest (Harold Wicks) on 11/23/2005 at 2:27 PM
1
Setting up such facilities, ensuring zero emissions in to the atmosphere, should turn waste disposal into a lucrative activity rather than the costly problem that it is now.
Guest (Kris) on 02/06/2006 at 12:00 AM
1
Guest (Ecacofonix) on 06/14/2006 at 12:00 AM
1
Some more inputs on biodiesel from algae @ Oilgae.com - http://www.oilgae.com
Ec @ http://www.eit.in
Dan King on 02/26/2008 at 9:02 AM
1