Biofuel
Renewal Energy Solutions
During the last three decades, climate change, and its effects, has gained world-wide attention. Most leading nations have agreed that global CO2 emissions must be reduced and alternatives to harmful fossil fuels need to be found. Scientists at research centers and universities are working to develop sustainable energy solutions to optimize current energy technologies. As a result, many sustainable energy technologies have been developed.
To date, solar and wind energies have proven to be the most common sustainable solutions. Due to the development of new methodologies, the usage of biofuels is increasing. This new technology allows the conversion of biomass into fuels that can generate energy. The most recognized of these include bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas.
Biofuels are classified in four different generations. Each generation refers to the biomass feedstocks. A feedstock is defined as any renewable, biological material that can be used directly as a fuel or converted to another form of fuel or energy product. Benefits from biofuels include economic, environmental, storage and waste management.
First-generation biofuels are produced from biomass feedstocks that can be used as food or waste such as pure oil, sugar, starch or the waste of frying oil. Examples include bioethanol, pure vegetable oil, biodiesel and biogas. Fermentation and transesterification are used as conversion processes during the production of these biofuels.
Second-generation biofuels are produced from feedstocks that are not usable as food such as lignocellulosic material. These types of biofuel are bioethanol, synthetic biofuels and biogas. Fermentation, gasification and fast-pyrolysis are used as conversation processes during this production.
Third-generation biofuels are a direct enhancement of the second generation. For example, focus is placed on the lignocellulosic material that renders the highest conversation of biofuels, such as algae.
In the fourth generation, CO2 emissions are captured and stored to use as feedstock to plants that are intended to produce biofuels.
Filtration can be used in general to:
- remove polyethylene and other plastics from animal oil
- remove sterols
- remove glucosides
- pre-treat oil to make it clean enough to convert into biodiesel
- bleach animal oil
- remove sulphur from animal oil
- remove proteins from animal oil
- remove absorbents such as silica
- remove phosphorus
- remove mono-glyceride
- remove strains
- remove waxes and gums
- wash, dry and purify end products such as biodiesel and glycerin
- remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)