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Special
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Written by Sabrina Deparine
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Monday, 23 August 2010 09:53 |
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Page views: 2984 |
Range Fuels Inc., a biofuel company based in the United States, has recently launched the initial phase of the very first commercial-scale cellulosic biofuels production plant in Soperton, Georgia.
 The said project involves the use of non-edible biomass called the Soperton plant. As the name implies, the plant grows abundantly in Soperton and is very rare in other areas. Range Fuels will be using a two-stage thermo-chemical process that utilizes heat, steam and pressure to convert Soperton plant into synthesis gas consisting of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
The synthesis gas is then passed through the company’s own catalyst to derive mixed alcohols which are then processed to various types of low-carbon biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and methanol. Cellulosic methanol is combined with regular diesel to produce biodiesel. It is also sometimes used to replace diesel in heating processes as well as a component for fuel cells.
Since the project is still in its initial phase, Range Fuels is targeting the production of cellulosic ethanol from Soperton plant top commence by the third quarter of this year. Right now, the company is keeping its fingers crossed that their biofuel will be able to meet fuel-grade ethanol standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Biofuel production in the new plant will initially utilize wood biomass from local timber operations. In addition, Range Fuels is set to experiment with other types of biomass feedstock like switchgrass and miscanthus.
The new plant can only yield less than 10 million gallons of ethanol and methanol per year for now but it is expected to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol and methanol per year. Range Fuels intends to increase the annual production capacity to 60 million by next year. |
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