A major milestone has been achieved by Cool Planet BioFuels in converting biomass to renewable gasoline through a superior bioenergy crop, giant miscanthus.
The company has converted 4,000 gallons/acre biomass to cellulosic gasoline in the pilot tests. The test results have shown that the gasoline has nearly one and a half times the power of ethanol. The bioenergy crop has been provided by REPREVE Renewables, a commercial grower of giant miscanthus, and created at the University of Mississippi. Other enhanced bio-energy crops such as switch grass and sorghum can offer comparable annual yields using the new technology.
By using the new process, agricultural waste can also produce about 1,000 gallons of gasoline per acre. The process produces very high surface area carbon during conversion. A few amount of this carbon can be redirected to produce a powerful soil enhancing product, which can minimize the present fuel output as well as create more fertile land for higher level of fuel and food production for several years. This sequestering process provides a low or negative carbon rating to Cool Planet’s renewable cellulosic fuel.
The cellulosic gasoline produced by Cool Planet is chemically same as fossil gasoline. The way to differentiate is by performing carbon 14 isotope analysis, which evaluates the carbon from fossil sources versus carbon from biomass in a fuel blend. Cool Planet’s gasoline has been tested by four leading gasoline producers in the world as well as by independent laboratories. The company has commenced the construction of a mass production modular refinery for fast deployment across the US and abroad. In addition, Cool Planet plans to set up several plants in the next two years to deliver a large amount of liquid gasoline by 2020.
Source: http://www.coolplanetbiofuels.com/