Science Daily - New conversion process turns biomass 'waste' into lucrative chemical products
A new catalytic process is able to convert what was once considered biomass waste into lucrative chemical products that can be used in fragrances, flavorings or to create high-octane fuel for racecars and jets.
A team of researchers from Purdue University's Center for Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels, or C3Bio, has developed a process that uses a chemical catalyst and heat to spur reactions that convert lignin into valuable chemical commodities. Lignin is a tough and highly complex molecule that gives the plant cell wall its rigid structure.
"We are able to take lignin -- which most biorefineries consider waste to be burned for its heat -- and turn it into high-value molecules that have applications in fragrance, flavoring and high-octane jet fuels," Abu-Omar said. "We can do this while simultaneously producing from the biomass lignin-free cellulose, which is the basis of ethanol and other liquid fuels. We do all of this in a one-step process."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Covalent on Sunday December 21 2014, @12:47PM
This is exciting news: lignin is a total pain to deal with. In particular, the fact that this process removes the lignin but leaves the cellulose is promising: the cellulose can be converted into ethanol for use in cars. That technology (both cellulosic ethanol and ethanol in cars) is pretty well developed already.
The only question I have is one of energy ratio: how much energy is required in the "pressurized reactor" to convert this waste into fuel and wonderful by-products. If the ratio is less than 1, then this is a non-starter. If it is slightly greater than one, this is still a non-starter. This process would have to produce significantly more energy than it consumes, which will be tricky for a number of reasons.
First, you have to transport the wood waste to the processing plant. That stuff is heavy and will be transported almost certainly by trucks, which burn diesel fuel.
Second, you have to process the stuff ("chipped and milled"). These machines also consume electricity or fuel of some kind.
Third, you have the reaction itself, which is pressurized and heated. More energy.
Fourth, the phenols have to be converted into jet fuel (the article is vague on that process, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that one requires energy as well).
Fifth*, if you want to count the ethanol as an energy output, you have to consider the energy inputs of converting the cellulose into ethanol.
Now, on the positive side, there's the energy that would have gone in to refining petroleum to make jet fuel and artificial vanilla flavoring, etc.
The energy ratio might still be greater than 1 despite all of these things. Forest waste is essentially free (currently) and you could build your facility close to regions that produce lots of this stuff so as to mitigate your transportation costs. It might already be "chopped and milled" anyway because it's the bits and pieces left over from the production of lumber or furniture or whatever. The reaction might not need a lot of heat and pressure to get going.
But the article is short on those details. And since the original article is 36 pounds, I don't know for sure. Anyone have a subscription to Green Chem that can fill in some of these details?
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Sunday December 21 2014, @01:28PM
A good summary but when making energy diagrams don't forget that burning the waste made process heat which was probably used for something other than just making a thermal plume. So take away the waste and they're just going to have to heat their reaction tanks using natgas or electricity or something else. Not saying it necessarily makes it a failure but it will have to be considered in the big equations.
Another interesting topic to think about much as cheap corn equals massive consumption of corn syrup (equals eventual obesity and diabetes) flooding the artificial flavoring market or whatever will have some interesting social and economic effects. "Remember back in the old days like the mid 10s when you could buy processed food in flavors other than banana and vanilla?" and stuff like that.
It might already be "chopped and milled" anyway because it's the bits and pieces left over from the production of lumber or furniture or whatever.
The carpenter equivalent of watching sausage being made is where particle board and chipboard comes from. This is another economic system effect. No more cheap walmart particle board furniture if "they" can make more money turning scrap into chemical products rather than chipboard. The overall quality and durability of furniture would rise quite a bit, although the increased cost would mean there's less of it. Inadvertently this might sabotage walmarts business model of reselling semi-durable goods over and over... instead of selling a bookcase designed to fall apart every two years for $50, poor people might be forced to buy one made of solid pine for $100 that will last a lifetime, accidentally improving their quality of life, overall reducing their cost, less landfilling (which is highly profitable), and negatively impacting walmarts business model of selling junk that falls apart, over and over. Overall drying up the particle board supply would screw the rich and help the middle class and poor, which would be the opposite of American economic policy in recent decades, so we'll see if this is ever permitted...
(Score: 1) by mr_mischief on Monday December 22 2014, @03:35PM
Veneer plywood is a good mid-point between OSV or particle board and solid wood. It's more stable than solid and can still be sent flat-packed.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 21 2014, @03:04PM
It's still a win because your primary sources of energy are self-renewing, hence, with proper management, they are inexhaustible.
The fact that you need to prime the system with a little unrenewable energy now and then does not rob the system of its ecomonic - and ecological! - value, IMHO.
~childo
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Sunday December 21 2014, @07:16PM
But is it plain vanilla jet fuel?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Funny) by Blackmoore on Monday December 22 2014, @03:16PM
yeah. You really don't want to know what happened to the test vehicle trying to use "Rocky Road".
At least the landing site smelled like marshmallows and chocolate.