The university
gasification plant LTU Green Fuels in Piteå.
(December 17, 2015) Luleå
University of Technology is the first in the world to produce renewable fuels
from pyrolysis bio-oil in its facility LTU Green Fuels. Pyrolysis bio-oil is
produced by rapidly heating the forest residues in an oxygen-free environment
and then rapidly cooling the products formed. By co-gasification with black
liquor, a renewable fuel is produced.
- We have made a breakthrough developing the new process and
managed to get 1 + 1 to be equal to 3. Black liquor makes it possible to gasify
pyrolysis oil at a lower temperature, which provides better yield than if the
raw materials were gasified separately said Erik Furusjö, project manager at
Luleå University of Technology and head of the project "Catalytic
gasification".
By converting forest residues into a liquid, called bio-oil
or pyrolysis oil, energy density is increased and transportation facilitated.
The conversion of the pyrolysis oil to a renewable transportation fuel is made
through a process called gasification. It is performed in combination with
black liquor that is a by-product from pulp and paper production and available
in large volumes in Sweden and elsewhere. The project "Catalytic
gasification" is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency and an industry
consortium.
First delivery of
pyrolysis oil to LTU Green Fuels welcomed by
Fredrik Granberg
(right) Project Manager LTU Green Fuels
In late October the first truck load of pyrolysis oil came
to the LTU Green Fuels plant in Piteå. It has now been successfully converted
to a renewable fuel. If one truck load of pyrolysis oil is mixed with black
liquor and converted into fuel, the total volume is sufficient to drive a car
ten laps around the earth. LTU Green Fuels is one of the world's most advanced
pilot plants for gasification of various types of biomass into synthesis gas
and green fuels. The focus is to replace fossil oil with green fuels.
Operations are running around the clock.