A study published in the journal Energy and Environmental science shows the approach of researchers towards streamlining biomass processing for the production of aviation fuels.
Jet fuels are known to be very costly, asides that the emission of gases that contribute to the detriment of our environment is still a fresh wound in our hearts. But this may soon be a thing of the past as biofuels maybe a low-cost and environment friendly alternative. As said by scientist who have developed a new technology to transform lignocellulosic biomass into an aviation fuel surrogate.
Researchers also noted the most important challenge in the biofuel industry to be the inability to get more advanced biofuels into the transportation pool (large amount of the biofuel are gotten from corn ethanol and vegetable oil-based biodesel.
Through catalytic chemistry, a technology has been designed to transform lignocellulosic biomass into a jet fuel surrogate. This was pioneered by a multi-university team led by George Huber, professor of chemical and biological engineering at the university of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lignocellulosic biomass was clearly defined as an abundant natural resource that includes inedible portions of food crops as well as grasses, trees and other ‘’woody’’ biomass. Transportation fuels and commodity chemicals can be produced from processed lignocellulose.
Presenting a comprehensive approach by the research team shows how a biomass can be processed for the production of aviation fuels. This will be achieved by the production of furfural and levulinic acid (sugars commonly present in lignocellulosic biomass). When these two compounds are transformed, it leads to a mixture of chemicals that are indistinguishable from the primary components of petroleum.
We are patiently waiting for that.
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