Merrow Scientific Blog

Biomass To Liquids Research

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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