Book Description
Foreword
The second EU-Canada workshop on bioenergy, focused on biomass pyrolysis for liquids for fuels, chemicals and electricity. It was one of the EU-Canada collaborative efforts in the area of thermochemical biomass conversion from which a number of successful activities have resulted including joint contractors' meetings, joint development of a fast pyrolysis plant in Spain, purchase of a fast pyrolysis plant in Italy and a number of other R&D activities in the pyrolysis utilisation and upgrading areas. This collaboration is expected to become even stronger now that the Agreement for Scientific Cooperation between Canada and the European Union has been signed which is to encourage and facilitate co-operation in areas of common interest, including non-nuclear energy, leading to economic and social benefits.
There have been significant advances in the science, technology and applications of pyrolysis liquids in recent years, particularly with respect to applications where the crude liquid is increasingly being considered directly for heat and power with minimum upgrading. Chemical and catalytic upgrading of the pyrolysis liquid to transport fuels to replace orthodox fuels in now clearly uneconomic at current energy prices. Upgrading is now increasingly orientated to improving the liquid fuel at minimum additional cost in order to meet the demands of specific applications with respect to basic characteristics such as viscosity, heating value, stability, suspended char and ash. This is coupled to the development of more tolerant processes to utilise these unusual fuels which includes boilers, engines and turbines. The need to meet end user concerns over quality and compatibility. Environmental aspects will also become more significant as industrial applications increase and permitting is required.
Chemicals are always of special interest due to their higher intrinsic value and research continues to develop extraction and production processes for specific products as well as the development of markets. Chemicals are derived by feed pretreatment, catalytic pyrolysis, post pyrolysis extraction, post pyrolysis or secondary catalysis, chemical reaction and separation in various combinations. Opportunities lie in both new chemicals for which markets need to be developed and also substitution in which economics and product quality are dominant factors. This area is still not well developed but offers much greater economic opportunities due to the higher value of chemicals compared to fuels and the unique composition of biomass derived products.
Europe continues to enjoy significant funding at R&D and demonstration levels with concomitant support from various fiscal measures designed to support the socioeconomic infrastructures and environmental imperatives. These latter measures are still necessary in order to make the emerging technologies and products competitive with conventional resources but as knowledge and experience improve, it is anticipated that biomass will become directly competitive without such support.
