Impact Of Densified Biomass Feedstocks On Biofuel Production From Biomass Gasification

Abstract

Economic production of transportation fuels from biomass sources is an ongoing challenge and opportunity. Hybrid energy systems combine various forms of energy into resilient supplies. This chapter describes biofuel production using biomass gasification. A key step in optimizing the biomass gasification step is densification of various forms of biomass including lignocellulosic biomass. An emphasis of this chapter is providing examples of the impact of feedstock preparation on biomass gasification. These examples show the beneficial impact that mechanical, chemical, and thermal preprocessing technologies can have on feedstock quality which also impacts the quality and quantity of biofuel production. This chapter also includes a discussion of the economics associated with biofuels production from multiple biomass types. Finally, this chapter discusses the key analytical methods used to quantify biofuel quality which also helps demonstrate the feasibility of substituting biofuels generated by biomass gasification for current fossil fuels. This chapter demonstrates that the technology to sustainably generate biofuels currently exists and that the key issue is whether biofuels can be produced in a cost-competitive process as a drop-in compatible fuel using the existing refining and distribution infrastructure currently used by petroleum-based refineries. It's also important to note that the current petroleum industry evolved over the past one hundred years and has seen several generations of technology evolution to get to where it is today. Biomass densification is an example of how the biofuels industry is evolving today into a cost-competitive environmentally friendly substitute for current fossil fuels.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

biofuel generation; Biomass gasification; climate change mitigation; feedstock densification; feedstock logistics; green energy; hybrid energy

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-180061379-9;978-180061378-2

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2023 World Scientific, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2023

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