Stories tagged with "biomass gasification"

Renewable Fuel Contenders

Posted by Robert Rapier on September 10, 2009 - 10:15am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: biomass gasification, palm oil, pyrolysis, sugarcane ethanol [list all tags]

Introduction

I got quite a few interesting e-mails and comments following my previous essay: Biofuel Pretenders. I probably should have mentioned - but I thought it went without saying - that pretenders usually don't think they are pretenders and will therefore protest mightily at the characterization. A number of people who e-mailed assured me that they have really cracked the code to affordable biofuels, and that we would be hearing more about them soon. Another person who wrote to me about algae said that he has been following algae since 1973, and he wrote "In spite of all the hype and non-stop press releases, no one to my knowledge is producing algae on a commercial basis for biofuel production."* Ultimately, I would be happy to be proven wrong on this, but I am just calling it as I see it.

On the other hand, there are some renewable fuel options that have either proven themselves as solid contenders, or have not yet demonstrated fatal flaws that would disqualify them at this point. In this essay I will cover some of those. First, I will cover a pair of first generation biofuels that have proven that they can compete with oil on a cost basis, and then a pair of next generation biofuels that I believe will be competitive.

There's more… (3659 words) | Comments (176) | | Permalink | Without comments | PDF version

A Visit to the New Choren BTL Plant

Posted by Robert Rapier on May 6, 2008 - 10:00am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: biomass, biomass gasification, btl, choren, green diesel [list all tags]

Introduction

I had to dig way back in my Gmail archives to figure out how it was that I first interacted with Choren. I had written several articles on biomass gasification in 2006, and when I announced that I would be moving to Scotland in early 2007, I received an e-mail from Dr. David Henson at Choren. David, at that time in Business Development at Choren and now the President of Choren USA, said he had been reading some of my essays, and he extended an invitation to visit the biomass-to-liquids (BTL) plant that Choren was building in Freiberg, Germany.



Figure 1. Choren BTL Production Process. (Source: Choren)

There's more… (1583 words) | Comments (147) | | Permalink | Without comments | PDF version

Cellulosic Ethanol vs. Biomass Gasification

Posted by Robert Rapier on October 26, 2006 - 9:20am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: biomass gasification, btl, cellulose, ethanol, kergy, vinod khosla [list all tags]

Introduction

There is a lot of government funding available for cellulosic ethanol processes. So, I have developed a new cellulose conversion process. I plan to get some of that government funding and apply for a patent. The invention is a personal cellulosic biomass reactor. In the first reaction step, the cellulose is gasified to CO and H2 (syngas). In the second step, there are several options for the syngas: produce methanol, ethanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, or combust it for heat or electricity. I chose to combust for heat, which occurs very rapidly following the 1st step. The combustion products are CO2 and water, but the CO2 that is released is equivalent to the CO2 that was taken up by the biomass while it was growing. It is therefore carbon neutral with respect to greenhouse gas emissions. I am hoping to get some government subsidies, or possibly Silicon Valley startup money for my invention. You can see a picture of it below.

There's more… (2545 words) | Comments (122) | | Permalink | Without comments | PDF version