Biomass to Fuel
Introduction
Based on a personal gasifier (care of Dr. Yuyi Lin [1], Mike Koch, et al.):
which generates gas from any cellulosic biomass:
we can take the process further to make liquid fuels.
Extension to Liquid Fuel Production
Utilizing Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, a process proven on a large scale:
(from Wikipedia)
our collaboratory will evaluate the possibilities for optimization for small-scale fuel generation. We mean personal fuel makers - a radical proposition. We are writing a grant proposal for this - and will consider a dual license - free to small producers, and royalty-based for companies with gross sales of a million or more dollars.
Student Projects
Engineering, materials science, and design students are welcome to engage in research on this topic. The questions to be answered are:
- Optimization of gasifier for controlled feed gas production
- Integration of gasifier with proven Fischer-Tropsch technology
- Optimization of efficiency for the above for the small scale (100-1000 gallon per day production
History of Research
This site is worth researching for an overview of research on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to date.
Pyrolysis Oil, Methane Storage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis_oil
http://www.bioenergywiki.net/index.php/Pyrolysis_oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate