Yesterday we told you how the US Department of Energy was willing to back hydrogen storage initiatives with up to $12million (see article) and now it seems it is willing to offer the same support for biomass research.
The DOE wants applications for projects focused on developing technology and processes to convert thermochemically derived biomass intermediates into liquid hydrocarbon molecules that can be used in petrol refineries or to act as direct replacements for petrol, diesel or jet fuels.
It is expected that around $4,500,000 will be awarded in fiscal year 2011, with a further $7,500,000 to be made available for fiscal years 2012-2013.
As part of the announcement, it was noted that moving beyond ethanol to hydrocarbon fuels is increasingly important as blend walls are reached and it is necessary to meet legislated renewable fuel requirements. It suggests that limiting renewable fuels only to petrol blends will eventually surpass the ability of refineries to adjust their product slate.
Developing refinery feedstocks is one area that could reduce dependence on oil by facilitating the replacement of the entire barrel currently used to make fuels and chemical products. Oxygen is expected to play an important role because the nature of the process will impact on final product yields and operating costs. The DOE expects that the process will be catalytic and that the selected catalyst will be able to direct the chemistry of oxygen rejection or redistribute to a chemical product.
All applicants must meet the renewable or advanced biofuels portion of the EISA 2007 renewable fuel standard and must include a lifecycle assessment to estimate greenhouse gas emissions.
