TITLE: Mission Analysis for the Federal Fuels from Biomass Program. Volume IV. Termochemical Conversion of Biomass to Fuels and Chemicals.

AUTHOR: S. M. Kohan;   P. M. Barkhordar.

INST.  AUTHOR: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA.

SPONSOR: Department of Energy.

LANGUAGE: English

PUB.  TYPE: Technical Report

PUB.  COUNTRY: United States

SOURCE: Department of Energy [DE],  Jan 79,  179p.

ABSTRACT:

The thermochemical conversion of biomass feedstocks generally denotes technologies that use elevated temperatures to convert the fixed carbon content of biomass materials to produce other, more useful energy forms.  Examples are combustion to produce heat, steam, electricity, or combinations of these; pyrolysis to produce gas (low- or intermediate-Btu), pyrolytic liquids and chemicals, and char; gasification to produce low or intermediate Btu gas (and, from IBG, additional products such as SNG, ammonia, methanol, or Fischer-Tropsch liquids); and liquefaction to produce heavy fuel oil or, with upgrading, lighter-boiling liquid products such as distillates, light fuel oils, or gasoline. This section discusses the selection of the feedstock used in the analysis of thermochemical conversion technologies. The following sections present detailed technical and economic evaluations of biomass conversion to electricity and steam by combustion, SNG by gasification and methanation, methanol by gasification and synthesis, oil by catalytic liquefaction, oil and char by pyrolysis, and ammonia by gasification and synthesis. The conversion options were reviewed with DOE for approval at the start of the project. (ERA citation 04:040501)

CONTRACT  NUMBER: EY-76-C-03-0115-131