This article discusses a recent breakthrough in increasing the efficiency of biofuel and how the present process is better than the previous one.
Engineers at the University of Purdue have just found a way to convert biomass into liquid fuel. The process these engineers call ‘hybrid hydrogen-carbon process,’ or H2CAR was explained by Rakesh Agrawal, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue.
This process increases the efficiency of biofuel by suppressing the formation of carbon dioxide. For this purpose, hydrogen from a carbon free source like nuclear or solar energy is added at the time of gasification.
In the traditional methods, the biomass is firstly converted into carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the gasification stage. These components are then separated and converted into liquid fuel.
The H2CAR methods provides greater efficiency as carbon atoms present in the starting materials are not lost in this process. In the conventional process, usually 60 to 70 percent of the carbon atoms in the starting materials are lost. So this process reduces the wastage. As the formation of carbon dioxide is also suppressed, it prevents the emission of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. The volume of biofuel produced is also three times that produced from the biomass using conventional methods.
Researchers are now trying to use these methods to produce fuel that can drive all the automobiles. In the new future, biofuel will be available for use not only in cars and buses, but also in trains and aeroplanes. In times when there is a great scarcity of conventional fuels, this can provide an added benefit by supplying an alternate and also a pollution free source of energy.
