JOULE JOR3-CT96-0176 Aqueous thermal conversion of biomass to hydrocarbons in the fluid fuel range

Contacts




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JOULE/THERMIE Programme : Thermochemical Conversion

	Type of Project	Shared Cost
	Contract No	JOR3-CT96-0176
	EC Contribution	500,000 ECU
	Start Date	01/12/97
	Duration	36 Months

The final report from this project is available from this site as a PDF file

Objectives

To produce hydrocarbons in the petroleum range in high yield directly from solid biomass of various compositions using a one-step, aqueous, closed pyrolysis process. To identify critical factors in high temperature aqueous reaction systems and adjust to optimal conditions for a maximum yields of liquid phase hydrocarbons.

Technical Approach

When pyrolysis is used to simulate natural petroleum generation, it is well established that temperatures of 300-400 °C, a proton donor (typically water), confined conditions and a residence times in the dimension of hours are required in the laboratory to crack macromolecular organic materials to liquid and gaseous fluids with a high hydrocarbon content. Equivalent reaction systems for biomass rich in refractory components, e.g., lignin, cutin and other biopolymers, will be developed in this project. To do this, precise reactant and product characterisation is necessary, and the critical factors both for the depolymerisation of the biopolymers and the conversion to hydrocarbon products in hot, aqueous systems must be identified and optimised relative to temperature, time, biomass/water ratio and pressure. To develop sufficient understanding of the reaction processes, simpler model compounds will be investigated as well as biomass samples. Quantitative models describing the reaction system in terms of kinetic, thermodynamic or pragmatic response surface models will be used for process description and evaluation.

Since the aim is to maximise the yields of the most valuable and useful product types, processes which at present are not assumed to be dominant in the natural conversion (e.g. FTT processes) will be exploited to give improved product compositions. Industrial FTT type processes require addition of a catalyst. However, the analogy with petroleum generation processes suggests that the biomass pyrolysis process can be self-catalytic and still result in liquid hydrocarbon products, so the aqueous pyrolysis systems will be investigated both with and without catalyst addition.

Expected Results

The project expects to determine the conditions required to make a process based on closed-system aqueous thermal conversion of biomass produce liquid hydrocarbon mixtures of a chemical composition comparable to a light crude oil with surplus biomass sources (e.g. woody biomass, bacterially-degraded mixed wastes) as feedstock. This will be based both on an increased understanding of organic matter reactivity at the process conditions, and on adjustment of the process factors that control the major reaction pathways of the biomass components as determined in pragmatic process optimisation studies. Technological feasibility of the process will be established in preparation for further exploitation as an alternative source for motor vehicle fuels that are "neutral" in the global CO₂ budget.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Universiteteit I Bergen Institute of Chemistry / NORWAY

Participant

• Terje HALMOE / Den Norske Stats Oljeselkap A/S NORWAY
• Karsten PEDERSEN / Haldor Topsoe DENMARK
• Geoffrey ABBOTT / University of Newcastle upon Tyne Institute of Fossil Fuels and / UNITED KINGDOM