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New efficient, environmentally friendly process turns biomass into jet fuel

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a highly efficient, environmentally friendly process for converting biomass into jet fuel.

Conventional techniques for converting biomass into fuel reply on plant-based sugars. However, these have the tendency to degrade into less useful levulinic and formic acids.

“Instead of trying to fight the degradation, we started with levulinic acid and formic acid and tried to see what we could do using that as a platform,” says lead researcher James Dumesic.

The new process, described in the prestigious journal Science this week, uses metal catalysts to react the two acids to form gamma-valerolactone, or GVL, which can in turn be transformed into jet fuel using inexpensive equipment and catalysts.

“It really is very simple,” says co-researcher Jesse Bond. “With very minimal processing, we can produce a pure stream of jet-fuel-range alkenes and a fairly pure stream of CO₂.”

The CO₂ can be captured under high pressure for other uses.
The researchers say that the fuel produced by the new process is ready for jet fuel applications and can be added to existing hydrocarbon blends.

“Once the GVL is made effectively, I think this is an excellent way to convert it to jet fuel,” says Dumesic.

He and his team are now working on more efficient methods for making GVL from biomass such as wood, corn stover and switchgrass.

For further information:
Jesse Q. Bond, David Martin Alonso, Dong Wang, Ryan M. West, James A. Dumesic. Integrated Catalytic Conversion of g-Valerolactone to Liquid Alkenes for Transportation Fuels. Science (2010) 327, 1110
www.wisc.edu

26 February 2010

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