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Jim Motavalli

Turning sawdust into gasoline

This is not science fiction: We actually can make gasoline from wood waste, switchgrass, algae and sugarcane. Maybe it won't be 'fossil fuel' anymore.

Thu, Dec 10 2009 at 4:02 PM EST
 26

SAWDUST TO GAS: Dr. George Huber with a tiny vial of pre-gasoline. (Photo: Jim Motavalli)
 
Here’s the conventional wisdom: Oil was made from the slow crushing of ancient plants (and dinosaurs!) under the Earth over millions of years. That’s why we call it “fossil fuel,” and that’s why it’s not a renewable resource — the supply is finite, and we’re reaching the peak of that supply.
 
That’s the conventional wisdom. But it’s wrong.
 
We can actually make gasoline (as well as diesel and jet fuel) from sustainable sources, including fast-growing grasses, wood waste and even algae (I know, it sounds gross). The research is far along, and it’s actively being pursued not only in university labs, but in well-funded corporate projects.
 
Dr. George Huber, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, showed me how he makes small amounts of gasoline from sawdust in his lab ... on a tabletop. No, it’s not cold fusion: It’s science-fiction science that actually works.
 
Huber takes pine sawdust — the cheapest “feedstock” at $40 to $80 a dry ton, but he could use many other things — and runs it through a sieve to refine it. He then loads it into a hopper on his lab-scaled fluidized bed reactor (FBR). Very large versions of these reactors have been in use since 1942 to break petroleum down into its component parts. The FBR heats the oxygen-deprived sawdust to 750 to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, so it decomposes without burning. “Within seconds you have liquids starting to form,” says Dr. Huber.
 
The same process would work with paper mill waste, agricultural residue (from, for instance, sugarcane and corn production), and “energy crops” such as switchgrass and miscanthus.
 
Huber’s liquid is not gasoline yet, but a gasoline precursor that will need further processing. But the final product is chemically identical to gas, diesel or jet fuel, and the fact that it can be made price-competitive with gasoline at $40 to $50 a barrel is what has financed considerable research. Unlike hydrogen, ethanol and other alternatives, plant-based gasoline can go straight into our current network of 160,000 gas stations.
 
If this was a crackpot idea, would the Obama-era Renewable Fuel Standard of 2007 require the making of a billion gallons of diesel from biomass by 2012?
 
Gasoline production from biomass may not stay on the lab scale for long. Huber and UMass are commercializing it under the name Anellotech, and that company says it can produce “price parity” gasoline by 2019. A plant is due to be completed by 2014. That $30 million plant could theoretically produce 2 million gallons annually.
 
Anellotech CEO David Sudolsky says, “At this early stage, we’re concentrating on sawdust because we can get it right down the street and it’s available all over the country,” he said. “I’m very excited about it,” Sudolsky said.
 
The “Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries” report says trees, grasses and agricultural residues (among other non-food sources) constitute more than 80 percent of the total biomass in the U.S. If the 1.3 billion dry tons of ligno-cellulosic biomass cited in a federal study were converted to biofuel, it would have the energy equivalent of 3.8 billion barrels of oil, which is half of the U.S. consumption in 2006.
 
One of the lead scientists working on fundamental research to make gasoline and diesel fuel from sugars is James Dumesic of the University of Wisconsin. Dumesic estimates that 50 percent of the transportation fleet could be powered with ligno-cellulosic fuels, and he helped make that a reality by co-founding Virent Energy Systems, with Dr. Randy Cortright in 2002.
 
In an interview, Cortright said the company has spent three years taking its process from a very limited lab scale to a current gasoline yield of a half-gallon a day. In 2008, Shell entered into a new five-year partnership with Virent to research and develop technologies to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline. The financial arrangements were not disclosed, but Virent had previously collected $10 million in government grants and $40 million in venture capital. According to Dr. Cortright, other significant investors include Cargill and Honda.
 
A year later, Shell (the world’s largest buyer and blender of crop-based biofuels) said it would concentrate on biofuels and carbon sequestration at the expense of investment in other renewable technologies, including wind and solar, which it said did not offer attractive investment opportunities. According to Linda Cook, Shell’s executive director of gas and power, “We are businessmen and women. If there were renewables [which make money] we would put money into it.”
 
According to Dr. Lance Lobban, director of the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, “green” fuel can be a big part of the world’s energy future. “Most biomass-based fuels can’t currently compete economically with $50 per barrel oil,” Dr. Lobban says. “But as oil becomes more expensive, and as it becomes more important to limit greenhouse gas emissions, we will look at ‘green gasoline’ because it would be essentially carbon neutral — its source is plants which remove CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow.”
 
There’s a lot more exciting research underway than will fit on this page. In future installments, I’ll look at the prospects for gasoline from algae and other unlikely sources. 
 
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anonymous
phaag 07/06/2010 17:01 PM

How about utilizing Hemp. It grows wild, needs no fertilizers or pestocides in order to grow abundantly, helps secure hill sides from landslides and mud slides due to the extensive roots beds. It burns to H2O and can be used for an alternative to paper, textiles and is Super cheap to grow. And "NO" it is not Marijuana!!

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anonymous
Guest 07/04/2010 21:13 PM

This article contains some illogical statements.

First:

From the article:

"Here’s the conventional wisdom: Oil was made from the slow crushing of ancient plants (and dinosaurs!) under the Earth over millions of years. That’s why we call it “fossil fuel,” and that’s why it’s not a renewable resource — the supply is finite, and we’re reaching the peak of that supply.

That’s the conventional wisdom. But it’s wrong.

We can actually make.... More

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anonymous
Patrick 07/04/2010 21:03 PM

Can somebody tell me what all of this biomass is being used for now? What will be the cost of switching from the current uses to this new idea. This is another example of the same fatal flaw of all of this "green energy" hype -- similar to saying that electric cars are enviro friendly because they do not burn gasoline, while conviniently ignoring the fact that the electricity is produced by burning coal.

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anonymous
abuasmara 07/04/2010 13:27 PM

one Malaysian has develop energy using water. he broke the H2O and sent the H2 to the engine to furnish the used up of hydrocarbon from petroleum. interested contact me at abuasmara@yahoo.com.

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anonymous
tim 07/04/2010 10:30 AM

process all the biomass in america...it would run our country for 6 months....and take how many decades to replinish? Not much thinking going on with this option..next please, thank you for playing.

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anonymous
Wisco ChemE 07/04/2010 15:19 PM

Thats all biomass that is created annually and sustainably (not sure why that detail was left out), meaning agr residues, tree trimmings, saw dust from lumber mills, construction waste. I have done the calculations myself while studying at UW in the Chemical Engineering Dept. 50% is still a long way off but the rest could be made up with efficiency gains and more public transport usage.

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anonymous
Cassie 07/04/2010 10:02 AM

My opinion is that; All these discoveries are at least ideas on how we can divert from fossil fuels. We need to all be on the same page of change. Think like we are going to run out of fossil fuels tommorow. We need leadership, an affordable plan for all people to try, then maybe this could really work. As for the blood/bodies yes that's wierd, but what can you do if that person donated themselves for the cause? It is something we should all take a little more seriously. What would we do.... More

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anonymous
zaboo 07/03/2010 22:13 PM

abcdefghijklnopqrstuvwxyz

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anonymous
asdf 07/03/2010 22:06 PM

asdf

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anonymous
sanlui 07/03/2010 18:08 PM

There is also another alternative fuel method by converting municipal sewer waste (MSW) by a process called "plasma gasification." Other hazardous material like HAZ biomass, HIV material (blood, body parts) can also be processed safely without any foul or toxic emissions. There is Hidden Energy in all that garbage and MSW,

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anonymous
buzscott 07/03/2010 11:47 AM

Great Article! Every Little Bit will help in the Fight For Green and Eco Friendly Products.

Green Advertising Invitation:http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/p/advertising-invitation-green-and-eco.html

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anonymous
carriagedriver 07/03/2010 09:54 AM

I hope everyone doesn't run around thinking wow this is great. Do a search on "Rudolph Diesel" (yes diesel is his last name) the inventor of the combustion engine who ran his engine on oil (PEANUT OIL) with 0 bad emissions....he may of continued to perfect the bio-refining method further except his so-called mysterious death at the hands of the coal company's (railroad barons and coal mine owners were threaten by him and his clean burning engine). So all you sheep out there don't beleave the.... More

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anonymous
Roy Querol 07/03/2010 08:02 AM

Wish all our research energy scienties kept pushing to change from fossil fuels to alternative fuels for our vehicles.
We don't need to keep those Arab countries to be super rich all the time. Time for us to be independent from foriegn suppliers.

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anonymous
Roy Querol 07/03/2010 08:02 AM

Wish all our research energy scienties kept pushing to change from fossil fuels to alternative fuels for our vehicles.
We don't need to keep those Arab countries to be super rich all the time. Time for us to be independent from foriegn suppliers.

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anonymous
Don 07/03/2010 07:00 AM

There are trees cut in forests everyday. Who is collecting the sawdust and/or wood chips from the cuttings there to use in the process of fuel production?

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anonymous
Korman 07/02/2010 21:55 PM

One neat thing about this is that carbon dioxide is consumed in the process of growing the materials that would be converted into gasoline. Then, as it is burned, that carbon dioxide is, in a sense, just "put back". Now, I know it won't be perfectly clean, but the net release of carbon dioxide would be substantially less. There are other ideas over the horizon that are potentially better, but in the mean time something like this could really simplify our energy needs.

It's a step in the right.... More

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anonymous
Gary 07/03/2010 09:47 AM

I would like to know what amount of Co2 is give off from the burning or decaying of the bio-products, we keep hearing there is a low amount released. Is there a study to show what is the net effect of this process. Plants absorb 1kg of Co2, how much is released when burned?

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anonymous
Al Cook 06/30/2010 12:44 PM

The idea of sawdust to fuel is an innovative idea and I suppose is plausible,however producing it competitively with crude based gasoline might turn out to be a real challenge at 40-50$ a barrel.Incidentally,a refinery barrel is only 42 gals..
As for T.Boone Pickens...Cavaet Emptor!!! I live in Texas and I remember that he and one of his rich cronies wanted to buy up all of the water rights to some huge Texas aquifiers,but our legislature prevented it from becoming a reality...T.... More

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anonymous
Sergej Palcev 03/29/2010 15:37 PM

Dear Sirs,
Can you inform me who can deliver to us the fast pyrolysis line with production of 3 t dieseline per hour. Feed is wood sawdust and peat.
Best regards,
Sergej Palcev
+37065934598
www.olinesta.com
info@olinesta.com
sergpalc@gmail.com

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anonymous
Uncle B 03/10/2010 14:21 PM

Once the nuclear electricity is plentiful, the electric bullet train network will replace white knuckling it in a car over long distances, and cramping up in jet planes after hours of fighting terminals. Imagine a lounge chair and cold drinks, complete and comfortable bathroom facilities, even dining cars for your traveling pleasure, and all at 320 kph! Downtown connections , departure at the local subway stations, tickets almost free compared to oil intensive private transportation and.... More

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anonymous
nutflipped 01/23/2010 19:14 PM

Soon people will be turned into gasoline, because Zionists consider people as raw material.

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anonymous
Richard 07/03/2010 20:23 PM

The statement "Soon people will be turned into gasoline, because Zionists consider people as raw material."

Is inflammatory and designed to cause distrust and discord. Most people are the same, moms and dads raising their children the best they can and they know how to get along with their neighbors. We did; get to know your neighbors and invite them over for dinner. I enjoy learning of new cultures and interesting ways and food.

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anonymous
Craig 12/15/2009 14:42 PM

This is being done by scores of companies by the millions of gallons using wood waste, energy crops, agricultural waste, and other cellulosic feedstocks. It's like doing a report on one man's home network where "two computers are talking to each other!"

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anonymous
Bill Johnson 12/11/2009 08:36 AM

ALmost all of the vehicles on the road today run on gasoline or diesel. Who decided that? Science and economics! Those two types of fuel produce the most energy for the least amount of money. We didn't need the government to decide that - the market did.

Free markets and innovations made those fuels more economical and more effecient over the years...all in spite of the government, not because of it.

The same thing will happen for our next fuel source. Science and innovation will.... More

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anonymous
Mary Luke 12/11/2009 08:35 AM

Another ethanal type, pie in the sky, maybe someday idea into which we should put more billions?

Meanwhile, as T. Boone Pickins is saying all over these days, "We have 2000 trilion cubic feet of natural gas right here (in the US). It is a bridge to our energy future. Why aren't we taking advantage of it?" Good question.

Another good question is why we can't at least discuss nuclear energy?

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anonymous
tim 07/04/2010 10:34 AM

do you suggest we do with the waste that wil last for decades and kill us all? 50 years after the bomb and there is still higher radiation levels in Japan than were expected...

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New York Times contributor blogs about green transportation.

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