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INTRODUCTION OF BIOMASS AS RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPONENT OF FUTURE TRANSPORTATION FUELS
Citation:
Borgwardt*, R H. INTRODUCTION OF BIOMASS AS RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPONENT OF FUTURE TRANSPORTATION FUELS. SAE TECHNICAL PAPER SERIES 982497 Series 982497:1-9, (1998).
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
The long-term objectives of new vehicle/fuel systems require the reduction of petroleum use, reduction of air pollution emissions, and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the near term, a major advancement toward these objectives will be made possible by the improved energy efficiencies of hybrid vehicles or fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) using petroleum fuels. The greatest reduction, however, can be achieved by FCVs powered with hydrogen which would be the most desirable transportation fuel from the environmental standpoint. The long term also requires, to the maximum extent feasible, the introduction of a renewable energy source -- biomass being a likely choice. Hydrogen faces a current barrier in the form of infrastructure and distribution problems; the barriers to biomass are supply limitations and high cost. Any alternative to petroleum must, as a first requirement, be competitive in cost if it is to gain acceptance in a fuel-neutral, free market. Because FCVs may be powered initially by gasoline reformed on board by partial oxidation, a biomass-derived fuel must be able to compete with those vehicles on a basis of cost per vehicle-mile traveled and also avoid the infrastructure limitations of hydrogen. A transition from petroleum to hydrogen therefore needs a fuel production technology that is capable of accepting biomass as a feedstock, produces a fuel that is compatible with the existing refueling infrastructure, can meet the fuel requirement of a major portion of the U.S. vehicle fleet, and is also capable of producing hydrogen at some future time. These requirements can be met by biomass gasification processes that utilize natural gas a a co-feed stock, thereby leveraging fuel yield and reducing cost. Initially configured to produce methanol, such processes can provide fuel compatible with flexible-fuel internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and dedicated alcohol ICEVs during the transition to FCVs as well as fuel for direct methanol FCVs and methanol reformer FCVs. The importance of the introduction of methanol initially is that the gasification technology can be modified to produce hydrogen as a distribution system is developed.