University of Washington invents process to converts small trees to methanol
12-October-04
Source:The Spokesman-Review
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage1289.html
Millions of scrawny, spindly trees choking Western forests could soon be
harnessed as a clean source of renewable energy, according to researchers
at the University of Washington.
A process has been developed to quickly convert even the smallest trees
and branches into methanol, which is used as a power source for fuel cell
technology, said Kristiina Vogt, professor at the University of
Washington's College of Forest Resources. All of this can be done without
adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Although the idea sounds too good to be true, Vogt insists Northwest forests
could soon become an important national energy source. Apart from the energy,
the process would help create new jobs and reduce the risk of catastrophic
wildfire.
"You're going to see it in a couple of years," Vogt said. "I'm serious.
The technology is already available. We've got this huge resource,
it's almost a no-brainer."
Demonstration projects are planned for Republic and Forks, Wash., and
on the Yakama Indian Reservation.
The heart of the process involves converting previously unusable trees into
wood alcohol. People have created methanol for more than 350 years, Vogt said,
but the new technology is vastly more efficient and converts wood into liquid
"in a matter of minutes," leaving behind only mineral-laden ash, which can be
used to fertilize the forest. Because the process has not yet been patented,
Vogt did not want to discuss details.
The methanol would then be used to power fuel cells, using a process
developed by IdaTech, a company based in Bend, Ore. Fuel cells are
essentially batteries that don't run down. They involve no combustion or
moving parts, but rely on harnessing energy from hydrogen, which is the
most abundant element in the universe. The byproduct of the reaction
is pure water.
Fuel cells are well past the level of science fiction, said Gary Schmitz,
spokesman for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, of Golden, Colo.
Although automobiles and even laptop computers are being powered by
fuel cells ö Toshiba recently developed a portable music player that can
run for 20 hours on a half-teaspoon of methanol ö significant hurdles
remain before the technology becomes widely used. Finding the most
efficient source of hydrogen is a major question, Schmitz said.
Energy also is needed to separate the hydrogen from a carrier liquid,
such as diesel, methanol or ethanol.
The National Renewable Energy Lab, which is one of the leaders in the
Bush administration's $350 million effort to create a "hydrogen economy,"
is focusing its efforts on using solar and wind to power fuel cells,
Schmitz said. "Everyone understands that the potential of hydrogen fuel
cells is very great, yet we have a far way to go."
Methanol from wood has been proved to be among the most efficient
power sources for fuel cells, Vogt said. Most of the government's
attention, however, has been on converting Midwestern crops into
ethanol, which is less efficient than methanol.
"The agricultural lobby has been so strong," Vogt said.
"They haven't even been looking at wood."
Western forests also are filled with an abundance of small trees that
have little commercial value, said Michael Andreu, program coordinator
for the University of Washington's bioenergy program.
Currently, landowners pay to have their forests thinned. Someday,
they will earn money selling their unwanted saplings, Andreu said,
during a presentation Monday at an international forestry convention
in Edmonton, Alberta.
One ton of biomass ö anything from tree trunks to pine needles ö can be
converted into 186 gallons of methanol, Andreu said. With 190 million acres
of the West needing thinning, the amount of potential fuel is in the
"billions of gallons," he said. Extensive research is under way in
Europe on transforming forest biomass into fuels.
Sweden recently determined it could power 30 percent of its
transportation system with bio-fuels.
"It's an amazing resource that's just standing out there," Andreu said.
"This can keep people working in the woods and rural economies viable."
The University of Washington hopes to have demonstration projects
under way in a year, Vogt said. Sustainable, environmentally friendly
harvest techniques are key to the process, she added. Once the
technology has been proved, Vogt envisions a future with many
small biomass conversion plants and communities capable of
generating their own power from the forest.
"It's going to be very soon," Vogt said. "The technology already exists.
This is reality already. It's not like this is a dream."
Cost remains the biggest barrier, but rising oil prices and the
increased instability in oil-supplying nations is changing that,
said Edwin White, dean of research at the State University of
New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
"What's going to push it is national security."
Fuel cell research is advancing more quickly than ever because of
a renewed push by private industry, White said.
The viability of the forest industry depends on finding new uses
for trees, especially as the global market becomes flooded with
cheap timber from South America and southeast Asia, White said.
Many people have difficulty believing spindly trees could
someday play a critical role in the nation's energy supply,
White said, but few people 200 years ago would have believed
the future value of the slippery black liquid that oozed
freely out of Middle Eastern deserts.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Cellulose ethanol --
Theoretical yields per dry ton for
some commonly considered biomass feedstocks include:
Feedstock Theoretical Yield in US gallons
per dry ton of feedstock
Corn Grain 124.4
Corn Stover 113.0
Rice Straw 109.9
Cotton Gin Trash 56.8
Forest Thinnings 81.5
Hardwood Sawdust 100.8
Bagasse 111.5
Mixed Paper 116.2
http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/ethanol_yield_calculator.html
_______________________________________________
Biofuel mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel
Biofuel at Journey to Forever:
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html
Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable):
http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
