ASPECTS OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION OPTIMIZATION: FEEDSTOCK BLENDING AND AIR- STEAM GASIFICATION FOR BETTER PRODUCT YIELDS

摘要

Feedstocks are the backbone of biofuels, and the choice of feedstock can strongly affect the product slate produced by their thermochemical breakdown. Feedstocks for biofuels must have no value elsewhere and must be abundant enough for large-scale production. Dutta et al. evaluated the technoeconomics of a biomass-to-ethanol gasification plant using pine that costs $61.57 per dry U.S. ton. In this study, the cost of the feedstock was found to be on the order of 30% of the finished fuel cost and other studies have found feedstock to contribute up to 40% of the fuel cost. Feedstocks like pine are not only expensive but they are highly valuable and do not grow quickly making them non-ideal for use as feedstocks. There is significant opportunity for reducing the cost and improving the sustainability of biomass feedstocks to thermochemical processes.