Biofuels and Synthetic Fuels

EcoCastulum and Biofuel production

Biofuels are liquid or gaseous fuels for transport produced from biomass. Biomass means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture (including substances of plant and animal origin), forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste. Biofuels are important in helping the world to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Biofuel production tipically takes place on cropland that was previously used for agriculture, to grow food or feed. Since this agricultural production is still necessary, biofuel production may lead to the extension of agricultural land into non-crop land, possibly including areas with high carbon stock, such as forests, wetlands and peatlands.

EcoCastulum works in the optimization of processes for the production of advanced Biofuels from different natural sources, highlighting:

- Bioethanol, defined as an ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural products or those of vegetable origin, whether used untreated or after chemical modification or transformation.

- Biodiesel, that is methyl or ethyl esters produced from fats of animal or vegetable origin.

- HVO Biodiesel (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil biodiesel), a hydrocarbon resulting from the treatment of vegetable oils or animal fats with hydrogen, either in dedicated facilities or using co-processing technologies in refineries.

- Synthetic biofuels, synthetic hydrocarbons produced from biomass using thermal and catalytic conversion technologies.

Synthetic e-fuels design

e-Fuel or synthetic fuel is a liquid fuel, similar to what we know today. The big difference is that it does not come from fossil energy sources. It is obtained from a chemical process based on hydrogen, the process of synthesis captures CO2 instead of releasing it, and the energy required in the process is obtained from renewable sources. Thus, it is a 100% clean fuel.

Synthetic fuels are born as a real alternative to the problems of limited autonomy of current batteries due to their higher energy density. If a manufacturing process is found that allows the development of these synthetic fuels without high costs, combustion engines could become totally carbon neutral.

The use of synthetic fuels has the following benefits:

- Low cost of the energy required for production.
- Provide energy autonomy and providing an energy pathway for off-peak or low-cost electrical energy, rather than the risk that energy from low-carbon sources has to be curtailed at certain time due to a mismatch between supply and demand.
- They are 100% clean and sustainable.
- They only use water and CO2 as raw materials.
- These fuels can be used in any kind of vehicle around today such as automobiles, trucks, and airplanes, among others, without the need to adapt their fuel systems.