A New Biofuel From Wood Waste for Sustainable Transportation

Most biofuels in use today are obtained from feedstock that can also be used for food-grade agriculture, creating an ever growing ethical problem. In the search for so-called second-generation (2G) sustainable transportation fuels that are not in competition with food production, a woody biomass-based biofuel production technique is currently under development. The process development is integrated in the Belgian federal government funded Ad-Libio project and its process outcome is mainly consisting of hydrocarbons containing five to six carbon atoms, that differ significantly from gasoline or diesel fuel. Since the Ad-Libio fuel composition can be changed, a fuel blend calculator with integrated fuel database has been developed. This tool enables fast fuel property calculations, so quick decisions can be made on the fuel production process outcome. After a first screening with the calculator, a fuel research engine was used to evaluate the combustion properties of the promising fuel blends, enabling quick in-house experimental verification of the calculations. The ultimate goal is to produce a drop-in fuel, made out of wood waste, that can be fully interchanged with the gasoline fuels in use today, enabling sustainable transportation for modern and legacy combustion engine-powered vehicles.