New Wood Waste to Biofuel & Plastics Process Developed at Dutch University

A process that converts waste wood into the building blocks of gasoline has been developed by researchers at the Netherland’s KU Leuven’s Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis. According to the university, by using a new chemical process its researchers were able to convert the cellulose in sawdust into hydrocarbon chains. These hydrocarbons can be used as an additive in gasoline, or as a component in plastics. KU added that cellulose is the main substance in plant matter and is present in all non-edible plant parts of wood, straw, grass, cotton and old paper. “At the molecular level, cellulose contains strong carbon chains. We sought to conserve these chains, but drop the oxygen bonded to them, which is undesirable in high-grade gasoline. Our researcher Beau Op de Beeck developed a new method to derive these hydrocarbon chains from cellulose,” explained professor Bert Sels. Dr Bert Lagrain added: “This is a new type of bio-refining, and we currently have a patent pending for it. We have also built a chemical reactor in our lab: we feed sawdust collected from a sawmill into the reactor and add a catalyst – a substance that sets off and speeds the chemical reaction. With the right temperature and pressure, it takes about half a day to convert the cellulose in the wood shavings into saturated hydrocarbon chains, or alkanes.” “Essentially, the method allows us to make a ‘petrochemical’ product using biomass – thus bridging the worlds of bio-economics and petro chemistry,” he added. According to Sels, the result is an intermediary product that requires one last simple step to become fully-distilled gasoline. “Our product offers an intermediate solution for as long as our automobiles run on liquid gasoline,” he continued. “It can be used as a green additive – a replacement for a portion of traditionally-refined gasoline.” However, according to the professor the possible applications go beyond gasoline. “The green hydrocarbon can also be used in the production of ethylene, propylene and benzene – the building blocks for plastic, rubber, insulation foam, nylon, coatings and so forth,” he noted. “From an economic standpoint, cellulose has much potential,” asserted the professor. “Cellulose is available everywhere; it is essentially plant waste, meaning it does not compete with food crops in the way that first generation energy crops – crops grown for bioethanol, for example – do.” “It also produces chains of 5 to 6 hydrocarbon atoms – ‘light nafta’ in the technical jargon. We are currently facing shortages in this because it is becoming quite difficult and more expensive to distil these specific hydrocarbon chains from crude oil or shale gas. In time, hydrocarbon derived from cellulose may provide an alternative,” he continued. “Our method could be especially useful in Europe, where we have little crude oil and cannot easily produce shale gas,” Sels concluded. Read More Closed Landfill to Host 5 MW Solar & Fuel Cell Power Plant in Bridgeport, CT The Connecticut Siting Council has approved the City of Bridgeport’s Green Energy Park consisting of 9000 solar panels and a 2.8 MW fuel cell installation at a an old and unused landfill. Boring Waste Management Story at Europe’s Largest Construction Project - Crossrail Some 6 million tonne of tunnelling waste, known as spoil, from Europe’s largest construction project currently taking place under the streets of London. In order that this material can be recycled to create an RSPB bird sanctuary it must be carefully assessed for contaminants. VIDEO: Poo Powered Bus Steams into Bristol Thanks to Biogas from Food Waste Co-Digestion Biogas from the co-digestion of food waste and sewage at a Wessex Water facility in Bristol is being used to power the first poo powered bus in the UK. Eaton Controls for Advetec’s Extremophile Based Organic Waste Digesters Power management firm Eaton has been selected to supply all key automation components used by Advetec's bio-thermic digester systems which make use of extremophile bacteria harvested from deep ocean volcanos.