Japanese Institute Succeeds in Continuous Synthesis of Diesel Fuel from Wood

On March 23, 2006, the Biomass Technology Research Center, a base for biomass research in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology of Japan, announced that it has succeeded in the laboratory scale continuous synthesis of diesel fuel from woody biomass through gasification.

The new method established by the center consists of three processes: gasification of woody biomass at high temperature and pressure, purification through hot gas cleaning, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of liquid biofuel. When compared with conventional production methods, the newly developed method does not require systems for cooling, heat recovery, or gas compression processes, raising hopes for future application to small and mobile diesel production plants.

Woody biomass is expected to play an important role in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, particularly because of its high carbon fixation rates during photosynthesis. Furthermore, liquid fuel from biomass carries the advantage of lower amounts of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sulfur oxides, thereby contributing to environmental conservation. One of the drawbacks of woody biomass is its high supply cost, as biomass resources such as wood materials are typically found dispersed in mountainous regions. To eliminate such problems, compact and mobile plants are needed to produce fuels wherever resources are available.

Based on this system, the center plans to create a portable unit for experimental verification (0.01 barrels or 1.6 liters per day) in 2007.

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Posted: 2006/06/22 11:16:37 AM
Japanese version