A major breakthrough in the Biofuel Production Process has been the creation of what is slated as "green gasoline," It is a liquid fuel. It is identical to normal gasoline but is made from things like poplar trees and switchgrass. These are sustainable biomass resources.
George Huber and two of his graduate students Tushar Vispute and Torren Carlson were the first to announce the direct conversion of what is known as 'plant cellulose' into the gasoline components.
The announcement was made in the 7th April, 2008 issue of "Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy & Materials".
It may be noted that George Huber is a "National Science Foundation" Career awardee. Huber is a chemical engineer and from the "University of Massachusetts-Amherst".
In the same issue of the magazine James Dumesic along with colleagues from the "University of Wisconsin-Madison" announced an innovative integrated process on biofuel production. It deals with the process of creation of chemical components for jet fuel. The researchers here used a green gasoline approach.
The uniqueness of Dumesic's team's results lies in the fact that the team has devised an integrated model for the production process. The biofuel production process has been designed to run smoothly and sequentially in the model. The need for purification and complex separation between reactors has been done away with.
While it may take a decade for the commercial production and consumption of green gasoline to start the research studies have definitely opened up new avenues in the arena of biofuel production.
Biofuel Production is essentially a 'backstop technology' till date. Extensive R&D and appropriate socio-economic policies are required to make the product economically viable for consumption.
The world, in particular the developed nations are definitely investing for a greener earth and for a sustainable development of the world economy.
The challenge that lies before the chemical engineers today is that they are supposed to produce biomass based liquid fuels, which seamlessly fits into the existent infrastructure.
Green gasoline can serve as a better substitute to bioethanol. Its plus point lies in the fact that it is usable in the existent engines. One also need not incur a 30% penalty in gas mileage (as occurs in the case of flex fuel which is ethanol-based).
Green gasoline requires a lower amount of energy for production as compared to ethanol. The process possesses a lower 'carbon footprint'. It is also cheaper to produce. Moreover it is produced from the following cellulose sources.
» Switchgrass
» Agricultural and forest residues like corn stove or wood chip
» Poplar trees
This precludes the surfacing of the problem of 'lifecycle greenhouse gas' faced in the production of
soy biodiesel and corn ethanol.
It may be noted that apart from the researching academicians some Fortune 500 petroleum refineries and small business enterprises are preparing for green gasoline production. Defense personnel have also exhibited considerable interest in the production of biomass based diesel and jet fuel.