Posted by Ben Proudlove on Tue, Feb 16, 2010 @ 05:29 AM
According to the BBC website British Airways is to build the first plant in Europe making jet fuel from waste material using a process of waste gasification (to produce syngas) and the Fischer Tropsch process to convert that syngas to synthetic fuel.
It's planned to be up and running by 2014 and based in east London.
It looks like a natural step for BA to go down this route following the fact that various competitor airlines have already signed up with Rentech for supply of their synthetic fuel from their facility in Mississippi - again produced by gasification and FT conversion.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Thu, Dec 03, 2009 @ 09:18 AM
A very hot topic at the moment is the coversion of biomass (and I'll include in that coal) to synthetic fuel i.e. by gasification followed by conversion of the syngas to liquid hydrocarbons.
So these researching this area include the guys at Columbia I recently mentioned who are looking at incorporating CO2 into the gasification process to both utilise a waste gas and also improve process efficiency.
Also in the news currently is a big investment going on in Alberta Canada into developing a UCG (underground coal gasification) production site to utilise coal too deep to mine and turn it into liquid hydrocarbons for fuel usage. And you can bet there will be lots more going down this route, particularly when you consider the amount of coal reserves in the USA and their desire to limit their dependency on oil producing countries and also that the technology can be made relatively cleanly, using sunlight for the gasification process (potentially) and the synthetic fuel can be distributed and used using current set ups. 
So there are two main research areas that need looking at:
Biomass or coal to Syngas
and
Syngas to Liquid Hydrocarbons
We supply a range of systems that can be designed to suit a researchers exact requirements to meet all aspects of this research. As such I've set up a dedicated application page and a downloadable presentation detailing the systems and benefits they offer your research. Please visit our Biomass to Liquids application page.
Let me know if you have any questions or need further info - easiest is via our contact us page
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 11:20 AM
Researchers at Columbia University in New York have found that adding CO2 in place of 30% of the steam used for biomass gasification improves the efficiency of the process and also potentially means a a beneficial use for waste CO2 in the environment. Full details on the research can be seen on this Global Impact page.
So broadly speaking that means more efficient production of a new fuel source while at the same time make use of an unwanted material in the environment. A win/win situation????
For details of how our systems can be used for research into biomass gasification, and conversion of syngas to synthetic fuels please have a look at our biomass gasification page.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Wed, Sep 02, 2009 @ 02:07
Two of our main product ranges that we supply in the UK market greatly benefit from the use of powerful earth magnetic technology.
Autoclave Engineers first developed and launched their magnedrive powered laboratory stirred reactors back in 1958 leading the world in this development. This was a way of having a sealed reactor free from risk of leakage or contamination that could be accurately stirred even when run at high pressures. This was achieved using a magnet coupling between driver magnets (rotated by an motor) and an encapsulated inner magnet assembly which leads to a shaft and impeller, so as the driver magnets are rotated the impeller and shaft are also rotated. Such are the strength of the magnets used that accurate controlled stirring can be achieved even at high torque requirements and under high pressures or temperatures.
The other excellent use of magnets comes from Rubotherm. Many years ago the research team in the Thermodynamics dept at the Ruhr University in Bochum had a project requiring gravimetric analysis of samples at raised pressures. Conventional gravimetric systems have a direct connection between the precision balance and the sample - which is great for low pressure applications, but once you get above 20bar or so or start to look into things like corrosive vapours then you get a bit stuck as your balance is in the same area as the sample you wish to subject to the high pressure etc, and doing so will damage the balance, so conventional systems weren’t any use.
So using a magnet/electromagnet coupling, a position sensor and a cracking control system they devised a magnetical coupling gravimetric system for measuring mass change/transfer of sample while subjected to a wide range of conditions.
This technology was eventually patented and a spin off company formed (Rubotherm). Systems have now been supplied all over the world for a variety of applications, including gas storage (e.g. hydrogen, CO2 or Methane into zeolites or MOFs), corrosion testing, biomass and coal gasification, polymer degradation and lots more. We’ve been up to pressures as high as 2000bar, temperatures as high as 1600degC and no problem at all dosing corrosive things over samples and measuring mass change.
The latest development allows TGA type measurements at raised pressures. Why would you want to do that? Well with some applications it allows you to imitate the real life conditions that would effect your sample and measure accurately what happens, for example HP TGA on oil, biomass or coal gasification, degradation of materials used in off shore drilling….. This hasn’t been possible until now as other TGA systems only operate at atmospheric pressures.
So thanks to the attraction of the magnet our customers in the UK are able to push their research into new and exciting areas……
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Fri, Aug 14, 2009 @ 02:29
British project aims to use energy from coal to produce clean electricity
Very interesting article looking at a recent development in commercial coal gasification in the UK and using the syngas produced to generate energy either using the hydrogen in fuel cells or a process like the Fischer Tropsch (FT) process to turn the syngas into a synthetic petroleum substitute.
Coal and biomass gasification are things we and our suppliers at Rubotherm are actively involved in on a research scale. Using the Rubotherm MSB or HP TGA these gasification processes can be carried out at high temperatures and raised pressures to get an understanding of the process and product produced.
FT research is something Merrow Scientific are also actively involved in in the UK market with our fixed bed and slurry reactors from Autoclave Engineers. Mainly carried out in oven based environments this custom configured systems allow users to carry out exact research on a small scale to develop alternative fuel sources.
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 @ 02:30
August is traditionally a holiday month all over the world, with many companies (particularly those in Southern Europe) traditionally closing for the entire month. However this year we’re finding that August (and also September) has become the month of conferences.
Last week Merrow Scientific was present at a very well attended 42nd IUPAC congress in Glasgow.
Good to see such an active community on various topics including one close to our hearts, hydrogen storage. So our Rubotherm gravimetric sorption systems went down well. As well as several further enquiries for the new unique high pressure TGA system based around the Rubotherm MSB (magnetic suspension balance) technology - including coal and biomass gasification.
And next week it’s on to the British Zeolite Association annual conference, again lots of focus on unique storage materials for such applications as hydrogen storage. Good to see lots of effort being pushed into the new fuel sector.
And then the following month it’s on to the RAPS (Polymer Science) meeting and the Surface Area, Pore Size and Related Measurements meeting at Imperial College……
So a busy month ahead at conferences rather than holidays, but given the state of the weather…….