Introduction
Nowadays, one of the most active sectors in terms of research is the energy sector. In the following report, I will examine a technology available for licensing posted at the University of Oxford Innovation website. Briefly, this technology enhances the current biofuel production technologies to a great extent and it could be a great breakthrough that can end the dependence of the world on non-renewable energy sources. [8]
As a chemical engineering student, energy technologies are one of my main interests. Being one of the fields with the most available funds for research, I find it really surprising that the problem of the dependence on non-renewable/non-sustainable fossil fuel energy sources has not yet been tackled. Of course, …show more content…
First generation biofuels are being derived from sources like starch, sugar or animal fats. [1]The sustainability of first generation biofuels has been in the spotlight over the last few years. This is because the feedstocks used for first generation biofuel production can be considered food. [2]Considering that the world population is and has been growing very fast and starvation has already been a significant global problem, a food vs fuel debate for first generation biofuels emerged. The conclusion of the evaluation of the sustainability of first generation biofuels showed that they cannot guarantee long-term sustainability. [2] This is why current research focuses on second generation biofuels, which use residues and waste as feedstocks. …show more content…
This new innovative technology from Oxford University, involves the use of a hydro-deoxygenation catalyst using supported noble metal nanoparticles. [8] Catalysts are extensively used in industry to facilitate and speed up chemical reactions. Hydro-deoxygenation is a reaction that can give alkanes as a final product that can be used directly as a fuel in conventional engines. This happens by removing oxygen from the biomass feedstock. To achieve that a catalyst is required that will aid in breaking the carbon-oxygen bonds in the biomass. However, catalysts used for this process nowadays have significant disadvantages. This is because instead of facilitating only the carbon-oxygen bond breaking, they also facilitate carbon-carbon bond breaking. This causes the catalyst to deactivate rapidly because carbon sticks to its surface and this means that the current hydro-deoxygenation processes give low yields of carbon chains that can be useful and a complicated mix of products that must be separated in order to obtain the useful ones.[8] Oxford University’s invention tackles those problems by encouraging the breaking of the carbon-oxygen bond and minimizing the facilitation of the carbon-carbon bond cleavage.[8] This extends the life of the catalyst and the process now gives
Nowadays, one of the most active sectors in terms of research is the energy sector. In the following report, I will examine a technology available for licensing posted at the University of Oxford Innovation website. Briefly, this technology enhances the current biofuel production technologies to a great extent and it could be a great breakthrough that can end the dependence of the world on non-renewable energy sources. [8]
As a chemical engineering student, energy technologies are one of my main interests. Being one of the fields with the most available funds for research, I find it really surprising that the problem of the dependence on non-renewable/non-sustainable fossil fuel energy sources has not yet been tackled. Of course, …show more content…
First generation biofuels are being derived from sources like starch, sugar or animal fats. [1]The sustainability of first generation biofuels has been in the spotlight over the last few years. This is because the feedstocks used for first generation biofuel production can be considered food. [2]Considering that the world population is and has been growing very fast and starvation has already been a significant global problem, a food vs fuel debate for first generation biofuels emerged. The conclusion of the evaluation of the sustainability of first generation biofuels showed that they cannot guarantee long-term sustainability. [2] This is why current research focuses on second generation biofuels, which use residues and waste as feedstocks. …show more content…
This new innovative technology from Oxford University, involves the use of a hydro-deoxygenation catalyst using supported noble metal nanoparticles. [8] Catalysts are extensively used in industry to facilitate and speed up chemical reactions. Hydro-deoxygenation is a reaction that can give alkanes as a final product that can be used directly as a fuel in conventional engines. This happens by removing oxygen from the biomass feedstock. To achieve that a catalyst is required that will aid in breaking the carbon-oxygen bonds in the biomass. However, catalysts used for this process nowadays have significant disadvantages. This is because instead of facilitating only the carbon-oxygen bond breaking, they also facilitate carbon-carbon bond breaking. This causes the catalyst to deactivate rapidly because carbon sticks to its surface and this means that the current hydro-deoxygenation processes give low yields of carbon chains that can be useful and a complicated mix of products that must be separated in order to obtain the useful ones.[8] Oxford University’s invention tackles those problems by encouraging the breaking of the carbon-oxygen bond and minimizing the facilitation of the carbon-carbon bond cleavage.[8] This extends the life of the catalyst and the process now gives