Biodiesel

Bioethanol is currently the most commonly produced and used biofuel in the world, with global production of fuel ethanol accounting for 54% of all cumulative biofuel investment in 2010, with a major concentration in the United States and Brazil (sugarcane ethanol). Ethanol blends improve engine combustion and reduce emissions of carcinogens such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and soot. As a result, a growing number of countries have explicitly required a certain amount (10-15%) of ethanol to be added to gasoline as a transportation fuel to ease the pressure on oil consumption while reducing the release of air pollutants.

Our Solution

The process of producing ethanol from sugar and starch raw materials is well established, but because its raw materials are mainly food, it is easy to cause a situation of competition with food for land, and it is difficult to meet the demand for energy in the long term, so the production is greatly restricted. Cellulose, which is rich in resources and a renewable energy source, is the most important biomass resource and has become the main raw material for fuel ethanol production.

• Sugar, from sugar cane, sugar beet, etc.
• Starch, from corn, grain, etc.
• Wood fiber, from straw, bagasse, etc.

Raw material	Production method	Features
Crude oil	Catalytic cracking	The traditional method, refining process involves desulfurization and denitrification, more complex
Waste plastics	Cracking	Utilization of waste resources
Vegetable oil	Direct use or microemulsion blended with conventional diesel	Liquid, lightweight, simple, renewable, high calorific value, high viscosity, perishable, incomplete combustion, can be used in combination with other methods
Vegetable oils and animal fats	Pyrolysis	Performed at high temperatures, requires conventional chemical catalysts, difficult to control reaction products, high cost
Vegetable oils or animal fats and alcohols	Acid-catalyzed ester exchange reactions	High added value by-product glycerol, faster reaction rate than acid-catalyzed, soap generation at residual alkali, clogging pipes
	Base catalyzed transesterification reaction	Better catalytic effect than alkali when the content of free fatty acids and water in the ester is high
	The lipase-catalyzed ester exchange reaction	The content of free fatty acid and water has no effect on the reaction, relatively clean, high enzyme price, and long reaction time

Important raw material for new generation biodiesel development

Biodiesel is a kind of long-chain fatty acid monoalkyl ester obtained by esterification of vegetable oil or animal fat with certain alcohols and hydroxide catalysts, which is a renewable diesel fuel to replace fossil diesel. The research and development of bioenergy can be divided into four generations according to the production of raw materials.

The first generation is based on edible seeds (e.g., soybeans), grains, or animal fats. The second generation of raw materials is inedible oil seeds, kitchen oil, lignocellulosic residues (wood residues, sugarcane bagasse, cereal grass straw, etc.), etc. The third generation of raw materials is microalgae or other microorganisms. The fourth generation is engineered microalgae.

Both the third and fourth generation bioenergy production requires "algae to biofuel" technology, but for the former, we focus on the conversion process from microalgae to biofuel, while for the latter we focus on the development of microalgae biotechnology through metabolic engineering of the microalgae genome.

Advantages

• Reduce the cost of cellulase production.
• Research new and efficient methods of cellulase recovery and reuse.
• Increase the yield of cellulose glycolysis and the conversion of sugar fermentation to ethanol.
• Select and cultivate microorganisms through genetic engineering to increase enzyme yield and improve enzyme activity.
• Develop new microorganisms to solve the problem of difficult fermentation of pentose.
• Develop advanced ethanol fermentation and distillation processes and equipment.

Our Focus

• With fast growth, high oil production rate, some oil-producing microalgae can reach 50%-90% of total fat, which is expected to become the most promising bioenergy feedstock.
• Has an emission reduction effect. Microalgae can directly use CO2, NO2, and other industrial waste gas, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and also reduce production costs.
• In addition to oil and grease, it is rich in bioactive substances and can be used comprehensively.
• It does not occupy arable land and can be cultivated on a large scale in mudflats and saline lands using seawater and underground brine.

 

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For research or industrial use.

Related Solutions

• Biohydrogen Production
• Bioethanol