A new biomass-to-liquids unit has been launched by the French CEA (Atomic Energy Commission, now to be called the Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission).

Located in Bure Saudron, 80km east from Nancy in north-eastern France, the pilot will demonstrate a complete biomass-to-liquids production chain: this includes gathering and conditioning of biomass, gasification, gas processing and conversion to synthetic fuel via the Fischer-Tropsch process. The experience should help establish a biomass-to-liquids sector for both process integration techniques and to help define a regional economic model.

It is expected that the pilot plant will use around 75,000 tonnes per year of forest and local agricultural residue to help produce around 23,000 tonnes/year of second generation biofuel including diesel, kerosene and naptha.

At the moment, the biomass-to-liquids process is limited by the mass yield of end products. The Bure Saudron project will experiment with a new process to increase efficiency – the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide generated during the synthesis stage of the fuel will be greatly enhanced by the external input of hydrogen. According to the French CEA, this will be a world first.

Bure Saudron has been chosen partly based on commitments made in 2006 to support the economic development of territories that are home to laboratory research on the deep geological storage of nuclear waste.