Iowa State University Researches Renewable Fuels of the Future

Iowa State University researchers have created an odd contraption from a pair of pipes, toggles, switches, electronics and a sturdy frame that will produce the next generation of fuels from renewable resources such as corn stalks and wood chips, the Iowa State University News service reports.

The bio oil gasifier heats bio oil, sans oxygen, turning it into a thick brown oil that can be further divided and processed into fuels.

The oil can then be sprayed into the top of the gasifier and turned into gas.

Excerpts of the article follow below:

The gasifier was built as part of a two-year, nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Another three-year, $450,000 grant from the Iowa Energy Center will allow researchers to study and refine bio-oil gasification.

The ultimate goal of all the modeling and testing is to develop a new biorenewables landscape for Iowa and the country. The Iowa State idea calls for biomass to be transported to small, local fast pyrolysis plants that would convert crop biomass into liquid bio-oil. The bio-oil would be easily transported to bigger, regional facilities where it could be gasified and processed into transportation and boiler fuels.

One place to start building that vision is the high bay facility on the north side of Iowa State’s Biorenewables Research Laboratory. On a recent morning, Nicholas Creager, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering and biorenewable resources and technology, was there putting the bio-oil gasifier back together after completing some gasification trials. He planned to run the gasifier at higher pressures later that week, which is required for efficient fuel synthesis.

Once the machine is fully tested and operating at full speed, Creager said it could continuously gasify nearly 4.5 pounds of bio-oil an hour.

That’s enough to help researchers understand how the technology could one day contribute to an advanced bioeconomy.