[ Bioenergy ]
[ Bioenergy ]
Liquid biofuels Liquid biofuels include ethanol and biodiesel . Ethanol is used as an engine fuel and as a fuel additive such as E10 . The largest producers by far are the United States and Brazil . Biodiesel is produced from organic matter through a chemical process known as transesterification . It replaces diesel in ships , trains and automobiles . Aviation biofuel ( bio-jet fuel ; sustainable aviation fuel – SAF ) is used to fuel aircraft , either partially ( blended with conventional fuel ) or 100 %. It is made from biomass using pyrolysis processed with a Fischer-Tropsch process ; using alcohol from waste fermentation ; or from synthetic biology through a solar reactor .
Biogas Biogas is made by putting organic waste inside a closed container and allowing it to undergo anaerobic digestion , a process in which microbes break down organic matter to produce CO 2 and methane ; the latter can be used further to produce electricity , power vehicles ( trains , buses , automobiles ) or heat homes , or liquefied to produce bio- LNG . The residue from this process can be converted into biofertiliser . Europe is the largest producer , especially Germany , with two-thirds of Europe ’ s capacity . China and the USA are large producers , and the remaining production comes from the rest of Asia , notably Thailand and India .
Projects Several recent and ongoing projects demonstrate the versatility of modern biorefineries ( biomass treatment plants ). In 2021 Eni began production
Are algae a viable fuel source ?
In the past decade , algae have been viewed as a promising biomass from which to produce energy . However , investment has greatly diminished because of the perceived drawbacks and costs . Although algae grow fast and can easily be turned into oil , they require vast quantities of water , and there are high costs and difficulties of oil extraction . Among companies that have closed their algae operations are Algenol , while Shell and Chevron discontinued their R & D programmes . However , Totalenergies and Veolia are building a demo biofuel facility near Marseille , France , which will harness algae to produce oil by 2025 . Reliance Industries is working to convert sunshine , CO 2 and seawater into bio-oil . Other organisations are taking up the challenge , using new technology to improve productivity . The USA ’ s National Renewable Energy Laboratory uses medium temperature and low pH to more extract lipids from the algae to further process them into biodiesel . Indian Institute of Technology , Delhi has designed different models of biofilm reactors to cultivate microalgae .
in a refinery in Gela , Sicily , Italy . The plant recycles cooking oil and fats from fish and meat processing to produce biodiesel , bio-naphtha , bioLPG and bio-jet fuel . The company is planning to convert an industrial site near Livorno on Italy ’ s west coast into a biorefinery . It will consist of a biogenic feedstock pre-treatment unit , a 500,000 tonne / year Ecofining™ plant , and a plant to produce hydrogen from methane gas . Eni is also studying a possible biorefinery in Malaysia along with Japan ’ s Euglena and Malaysia ’ s Petroliam Nasional Berhad . In 2022 Fintoil completed its biorefinery at the port of Hamina-Kotka in south-eastern Finland . The plant makes renewable fuels using fractional distillation , in which heat energy and negative pressure are used to distil the raw material to its constituents , separating the wanted fractions . Its main product is crude tall oil , which comes from the Finnish evergreen and is a by-product of the kraft pulping process .
One of the leading biogas technology suppliers is Weltec Biopower . It has built four biogas plants in Japan , the latest being a biogas-cum-cogeneration power plant located in Saitama Prefecture , which went into operation in February 2022 . Weltec assisted McCulla Transport in expanding its plant in Lisburn , UK , and supplied stainlesssteel technologies to a plant in Taiwan . Another leading supplier is Wärtsilä , which formed its Wärtsilä Biogas Solutions division in 2019 . It is supplying the world ’ s second-largest plant ( in Burghaun near Fulda , Germany ), capable of liquefying bio-methane and synthetic methane as LNG for use as transportation fuel . Recently it supplied Transwaste ( Hull , UK ) with technology for a plant that will turn municipal waste into gas . In 2023 the Baltics ’ first biogas plant fired with household and commercial biowaste will go into operation . Built by BioWOIMA Finland Oy in Tallinn , it will produce biomethane for the natural gas network and fuel for CNG-powered vehicles .
Raizen , Brazil : harvesting and processing plants to produce biofuels . Photo © Paulo Fridman ( https :// creativehub . shell . com ). A Ford Taurus fueled by ethanol in New York City .
56 Stainless Steel World September 2023 www . stainless-steel-world . net