UPM Prepares to Invest Strongly in 2nd Gen. Bio-Diesel (Finland)

[jpak]

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-01-2006/0004464613&EDATE=

HELSINKI, Finland, November 1 /PRNewswire/ -- UPM will strongly
increase its stake in second generation bio-diesel in the next few years
and prepares to become a significant producer of bio-fuels. Currently, UPM
is developing the business concept and the respective technical solutions.
Decisions to invest in the first commercial scale production plant can be
expected within the next few years, rather sooner than later. The plant
will be located adjacent to one of UPM's paper mill sites in Finland,
France, Germany or UK.

"Investments in development of concepts and plants will be significant.
The production of bio-fuel is a good fit for UPM since its core business is
to add value to the wood raw material. Our aim is to maximise the gain from
the biomass-based raw material," states Jussi Pesonen, President and CEO.
"The importance of renewable fuels is increasing, and we consider this an
opportunity to further utilise our existing value chain and be part of the
future development."

The main raw material used in bio-diesel production will be wood based
biomass. UPM is already making versatile use of the wood and uses it
efficiently in production of products and energy generation. The bio-fuel
production plant adjacent to existing UPM pulp or paper mills would further
improve the possibilities to utilise this wood raw material.

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(actually this is hugh!!!1111 - first paper mill bio-refinery in the world IIRC - several are planning in Maine and elsewhere)...

[hunter]

1. "Second Generation" biodiesel is a synthetic fuel.

It's not biodiesel in the conventional sense -- it's not composed of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, it is instead a mixture of synthetic n- and iso-paraffins.

Link here:

http://www.nesteoil.com/default.asp?path=1,41,535,547,3716,3884

You'll want to look at the "White Paper on NExBTL" for technical details.

[jpak]

2. Could be wood xylan-based ethanol too...

Can Waste from US Paper Mills Help Supply Nation's Energy Needs?

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/papermills050905.cfm

Forget corn processing. Don't wait for switch grass. The real key to producing enough ethanol for America's cars and trucks this century is wood. That's the contention of researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY). By revamping the way paper is made, they've found an economical way to extract important energy-rich sugars from the trees and then convert these sugars into ethanol, a gasoline additive, and other useful chemicals. It's a process the researchers call a biorefinery. Installed at the nation's paper mills, biorefineries could produce 2.4 billion gallons of ethanol a year, they estimate, or 80 percent of the nation's projected need this year. "We know our sources of fossil fuel aren't going to last forever," says Thomas Amidon, a professor at SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry. "Biorefineries allow us to substitute a sustainable energy source: wood."

While the major component of hardwood trees is cellulose, from which paper is made, the second largest component is the sugar xylan. "Hardwoods contain about 35 percent xylan, while northern softwoods contain 9 to 14 percent," notes Dr. Amidon.

Currently, xylan is dissolved during wood processing in paper mills and not utilized. But when it is captured and fermented, xylan produces ethanol, which can be blended with gasoline. "We also expect to find uses for xylan for controlled release of pesticides and as a thickener," Amidon says.

In his biorefinery, extremely hot, pressurized water flows over a bed of wood chips to separate the cellulose for paper. Then the water is forced through a membrane that removes the sugars and acetic acid. What remains can be burned or gasified for combined heat and power uses.

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more here too...

www.forestbioproducts.umaine.edu/ForestBiorefinery.pdf

www.tri-inc.net/Biorefinery%20Business%20Case-June1%20_2_.pdf

www.biorefineryworkshop.com/presentations/Axegard.pdf

[hunter]

3. Scotty's in the Jeffries Tube...

... pulling Kirk's ass out of the fire.

[JohnWxy]

4. The potential here is compelling. 80% of current demand!

What about environmental concerns/GHG emissions? Can this process be done without adding to GHG emmissions or other environmental pollutants? (the links didn't have much to say on that.)

VERy interesting stuff.


REcommended.

[jpak]

5. It's wood, so it should be carbon neutral

IIRC this process uses wood lignin to produce "biodiesel" - lots of natural phenolic compounds, but nothing too nasty to deal with...

[JohnWxy]

6. This could be huge. Maybe in 20 years, after it's a reality MSM will report on it!

unfortunately, i can only recommend a thread once.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Many thanks for that link. I didn't know about xylan ... strange gap in my knowledge.

I had pondered the possibility of converting lignin (the phenolic polymer in wood) into a liquid fuel ... as of now, lignin is used to produce artificial vanillin (vanilla flavor).

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignin :
Lignin (sometimes "lignen") is a chemical compound that is most commonly derived from wood and is an integral part of the cell walls of plants, especially in tracheids, xylem fibres and sclereids. It is one of most abundant organic compounds on earth after cellulose and chitin. Lignin makes up about one-quarter to one-third of the dry mass of wood.