Transcript Technologies for Biofuel Production

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
Technologies for biofuel
production
(a brief survey)
S. Miertus
Pure & Applied Chemistry Area
ICS-UNIDO
First-High Level Biofuel Conference in Africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
30th July - 1st August 2007
Biofuel value chain and UNIDO
radius of attention
Biomass resources
Supply systems
Oil bearing plants
Conversion
End products
Chemical
(transesterification)
Transportation fuels
Physical chemical
(extraction)
Solid fuels
(wood pellets, charcoal)
Biochemical
(fermentation)
Heat
Electricity
Thermochemical
(gasification)
High added-value
chemicals
(biodiesel, bioethanol)
Harvesting,
Agricultural crops
and residues
collection,
Woody biomass
handling,
Industrial and
municipal waste
and storage
(pharmaceuticals,
polymers)
byproducts
FAO
UNIDO and FAO
UNIDO
(ICS-UNIDO expertise)
UNIDO and UNCTAD
Overview of Biofuel Production Technologies
First Generation of Biofuels
Biofuel type
Specific name
Feedstock
Conversion Technologies
Pure vegetable oil
Pure plant oil (PPO),
Straight vegetable oil
(SVO)
Biodiesel
-
Biodiesel from energy - Oil crops (e.g. rapeseed, oil
crops: methyl and ethyl palm, soy, canola, jatropha,
esters of fatty acids
castor, …)
- Biodiesel from waste
- Waste cooking/frying oil
-
Bioethanol
Conventional bioethanol
Sugar beet, sugar cane, grain
Hydrolysis and fermentation
Biogas
Upgraded biogas
Biomass (wet)
Anaerobic digestion
Bioethanol
Chemical Synthesis
Bio-ETBE
Oil crops (e.g. rapeseed, oil
palm, soy, canola, jatropha,
castor, …)
Cold pressing extraction
Cold and warm pressing
extraction, purification, and
transesterification
- Hydrogenation
Overview of Biofuel Production Technologies
Second/Third* Generation Biofuels
Biofuel type
Specific name
Feedstock
Conversion Technologies
Bioethanol
Cellulosic bioethanol
Lignocellulosic biomass
and biowaste
Advanced hydrolysis &
fermentaion
Biogas
SNG (Synthetic Natural Gas)
Lignocellulosic biomass
and residues
Pyrolysis/Gasification
Biodiesel
Biomass to Liquid (BTL), Fischer-Tropsch
(FT) diesel, synthetic (bio)diesel
Lignocellulosic biomass
and residues
Pyrolysis/Gasification &
synthesis
Other biofuels
Biomethanol, heavier (mixed) alcohols,
biodimethylether (Bio-DME)
Lignocellulosic biomass
and residues
Gasification & synthesis
Lignocellulosic biomass
and biowaste
Gasification & synthesis or
biological process
Biohydrogen
*Use GMO as a feedstock to facilitate hydrolysis / technologies for hydrogen production
Comparison of technologies
Technology aspects
Current stage of
development
Biofuel option Concept
/ Lab
2nd generation
Techn .
a
Effort
Pilot/
Demo
Expected plant
b
capacity
[MW bf]
c
Overall efficiency
[%]
d
Distrid
bution
Use
+++
+++
10.......................1,000 0................................80
Liquid
Bioethanol
++
FT-Fuels
+
++
Methanol
Gaseous
Biogas
Bio-SNG
Dimethylether
Hydrogen
++++
++++ of
Many different concepts for ++++
biofuel options
the 2nd generation; associated
with
++
++
appropriate benefits and bottlenecks along
the pathway.
+++
+++
+++
+++
+++
++
++
++
++(+)
+
+
a
regarding system complexity (+ less promising….++++ very promising)
related to biomass feedstock
c
according state of development (many different concepts) only theoretical values
d
suitability for current distribution and use (+ less promising….++++ very promising)
b
Source: IEE Leipzig, 2007
Overall biorefinery concept
- a new chemical industry sector
- equivalent to the petrochemistry concept
Biomass to high added value
chemicals, an emerging chemistry
Biomass
Extraction
of chemicals
• Proteins
• Vitamins
• Fragrances
• Pharmaceuticals
Biodiesel
production
Sugar
fermentation
Thermochemical
conversion
Glycerol
• Ethanol
• Lactic acid
Bio-SNG
Chemicals
Chemicals
Chemicals
DST concept
Biofuel/biofuel production technology selection criteria

Technological criteria (energy content, non
renewable energy consumed, availability, carbon
residue, sulfur content, viscosity, density,
efficiency, scale up, …)

Financial criteria (static, dynamic, risk)

Environmental criteria (CO2 , CO, NOx, SO2, etc.)

Socio-economic criteria
Comparison of technologies
Economic versus environmental aspects
Source: IEE Leipzig, 2007
Selected ICS-UNIDO activities 2006/2007:
Renewables to biofuels and biobased products
A) Awareness and capacity building

EGM on “Technologies for Exploitation of Renewable Feedstock and Waste Valorisation”,
20-30 May 2006 Trieste, Italy
Workshop on “Sustainable Plastics and chemical products from renewable resources”,
Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, June 2006
Workshop on “Bio-fuels from palm oil: emerging technologies and their assessment” 4
July 2007, Malaysia
Workshop on “Technologies for renewable feedstock exploitation and bio-fuels
production” Accra, Ghana, December 2007 – in cooperation with UNIDO ECB branch
Joint event in Senegal, February 2008

Promotion of joint pilot projects in Africa (UNIDO + ICS)


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B) In house development of expertise tools


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Survey of technologies for exploitation of renewable feedstock for biofuels (technological,
economic, environmental parameters)
Decision support tool for assessment of technologies for renewable feedstock exploitation
Molecular modelling of chemical processes (catalysis, separation, etc.)
Strategies for developing countries
Example 1: Malaysia – ICS-UNIDO-MPOB
cooperation proposal
Catalytic processes for exploitation of palma biomass
Project 1: Transesterification
 Solid basic catalysts (supported alkali and alkaline earth metal oxides/salts,
modified or pretreated Group II-III metal oxides, hydrotalcite-like materials,
alkali exchanged zeolites and molecular sieve materials, strong organic
bases grafted on inert support, super bases)
Project 2: Glycerol based syntheses and products
 Substitute for polyols (microbiological and catalytic conversion of glycerol to
1,3 propanediol)
 Polymeric materials.
 Glycerol as fuel (bio-transformation of into CO and methane, synthesis of
glycerol tertbutyl ether as gasoline additive, catalytic transformation of
glycerol into CO/CO2 and H2)
 Carbonatation of glycerol (glycerol carbonate is a good protic polar solvent)
Project 3: Catalysts for palm oil biomass gasification
Example 2: 2008 – GREENOLYMP (Green
Olympics, Beijing) – a project for green plastics
Agro food
waste
(by product
of cheese
production)
Alcaligenes latus Cells for the production
of environmentally degradable plastics
1st to 45th day
The biosynthetic pathway of PHB and P(HB-HV) in Alcaligenes eutrophus:
The general structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates:
Recent ICS-UNIDO publication
BIO-FUELS
Technologies Status and Future Trends
Feedstock and Product Valorisation
Assessment of Technologies and DSTs
2007
Authors:
A. Sivasamy1, P. Foransiero1, S. Zinoviev1, S. Miertus1
F. Mueller-Langer2, D. Thraen2 & A. Vogel2
1
ICS-UNIDO, Trieste, Italy
IEE, Leipzig, Germany
2
Available at ICS-UNIDO website: www.ics.trieste.it
[email protected]
www.ics.trieste.it