Research Center in Finland Converts Forest Residues to Biofuels More Cheaply

The VTT Technical Research Center of Finland has demonstrated that woody biomass can be converted into high-quality liquid biofuels using a locally developed technology for the price of less than one euro per liter.

VTT assessed the techno-economics of the production of renewable liquid transportation fuels, namely biomethanol, dimethyl ether (DME), Fischer-Tropsch liquid and synthetic gasoline, using a method based on pressurised fluidized-bed gassificaion. Results of the study show that the production of renewable biofuels, mainly from bark and forestry residues, could achieve an energy efficiency of 50 to 67 percent, depending on the end-product and process conditions. This translates to an estimated production cost of 58 to 78 euro per MWh, or 0.5 to 0.7 euro per liter when converted to gasoline-equivalent price per liter.

The estimated cost would be at par with the current pre-tax price for fossil fuels and cheaper than existing imported biofuels. The estimated efficiency did not take into account the potential sale of thermal energy as by-product of the process.

The study found that the best efficiency and lowest production costs were achieved in the production of biomethanol, which also showed to have lower risks related to the commercialization of the synthesis technology. Methanol can be used with modern cars when blended with petrol at maximum of 3 percent-volume, or in higher concentrations when used with FlexFuel cars. Methanol can also be further converted to synthetic gasoline or used as renewable raw material in the manufacture of various chemicals and biomaterials.