New Eco-friendly Process Converts Biomass into Jet Fuel!

In the generation of biofuels from cellulosic biomass, plant-based sugars are converted into transportation fuels. However a problem with this method is that sugar molecules often degrade to form levulinic acid and formic acid – two products that cannot be readily converted into high energy liquid fuels.

So instead of trying to fight this problem, a team of engineers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has now developed a technology that uses this undesirable degradation to their benefit in order to produce jet fuel!

How?

The two acids mentioned above can be made to react to form gamma-valerolactone (GVL) in the presence of metal catalysts. Through yet another catalytic step which uses basic laboratory scale equipment, this GVL can be converted into jet fuel and a fairly pure stream of CO₂ as well!

Why is this important?

For two reasons.

1. Although biofuels like ethanol are finding a niche in the market for automobile fuels they cannot be used as jet fuel due to their low energy density.
2. The present infrastructure with regard to the internal combustion engine is designed for petroleum-derived hydrocarbons rather than for biofuels. However the GVL derived hydrocarbons that we mentioned here are chemically more equivalent to petroleum-derived hydrocarbons.

The other main advantage is that…

The simple, eco-friendly process that converts GVL into jet fuel preserves about 95% of the energy originally present in the biomass!

The process also requires only a low input of hydrogen and captures CO₂ generated for future use as well.

The main drawback though…

Is the comparatively high cost of GVL. Due to the lack of any incentives to mass-produce the compound, GVL is currently not cost-effective.

However…

The researchers involved in the project are in the process of optimizing the production of GVL from sources like wood, switchgrass, corn stover etc.

Now that the word is out, one would hope that more people would take note of this technology and thereby improve its feasibility.

-A comment would be nice -

News via: University of Wisconsin-Madison