Biofuel process said competetive with oil

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they've developed a process for creating biofuels cost-effective enough to consider production-scale operations.

An economic analysis by the Purdue University scientists behind the research shows the cost of their thermo-chemical H2Bioil method is competitive when crude oil is about $100 per barrel, and if a federal carbon tax were implemented the biofuel would become even more economical, a Purdue release reported Monday.

H2Bioil is created by heating biomass such as switchgrass or corn leaves and stalks to about 900 degrees Fahrenheit in the presence of pressurized hydrogen and passing the resulting gases over catalysts to create carbon molecules high in energy content, similar to gasoline molecules.

"The process is quite fast and converts entire biomass to liquid fuel," chemical engineering Professor Rakesh Agrawal said. "As a result, the yields are substantially higher. "Once the process is fully developed, due to the use of external hydrogen, the yield is expected to be two to three times that of the current competing technologies."

The method's initial implementation has worked on a laboratory scale and is being refined so it would become effective on a commercial scale, he said.

"This economic analysis shows us that the process is viable on a commercial scale," Agrawal said. "We can now go back to the lab and focus on refining and improving the process with confidence."