VTT participates in biofuel production technology project

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is participating in the EU-funded project COMSYN, which aims to develop a production concept for competitive bio-based fuels by means of a compact gasification and synthesis process. The target reduction of the biofuel production cost is up to 35 per cent compared to alternative routes, which translates to less than 0.80 €/l production cost for diesel.
September 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is participating in the EU-funded project COMSYN, which aims to develop a production concept for competitive bio-based fuels by means of a compact gasification and synthesis process. The target reduction of the biofuel production cost is up to 35 per cent compared to alternative routes, which translates to less than 0.80 €/l production cost for diesel.

The production concept is based on the distributed primary conversion of various kind of biomass residues to intermediate liquid products at small-to-medium scale (10-50 kt/a Fischer-Tropsch products, 30–150 MW biomass) units located close to biomass resources. The Fischer-Tropsch products will be upgraded to fuels in existing central oil refineries, also bringing the benefits of economy of scale for the overall process.

The smaller scale of primary conversion lowers the risks of the investment, which has been the main bottleneck for large-scale biofuel plants. Integration of the primary conversion to local heat and power production is estimated to result in 80 per cent energy efficiency in biomass utilisation.

The COMSYN project validates the process concept from biomass gasification to final biofuel product. The gasification of biomass and the gas cleaning process are developed and piloted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd together with GKN Sinter Metals Filters.

The synthesis process utilises a modern intensified Fischer-Tropsch reactor by INERATEC GmbH and one of the key targets of the project is to further develop the technology for even higher syngas conversion. Refining of Fischer-Tropsch products to high quality drop-in liquid transport fuels is done at UniCRE, the Unipetrol Centre for Research and Education.

The process design, techno-economic and environmental assessments as well as market and business case studies are carried out by Amec Foster Wheeler Italiana, DLR German Aerospace Center and ÅF-Consult.

Related Content

  • May 15, 2012
    Fuel for Thought: The what, why and how of motoring taxation
    The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has highlighted the dilemma facing many governments – motoring tax income set to fall even as traffic rises - in an analysis of the decline in the amount of revenue collect from fuel duty and VED (vehicle excise duty) in the UK. The collapse in income from motoring taxation will be caused by increasingly fuel efficient petrol and diesel cars, and the predicted large-scale take-up of electric vehicles.
    Read More
  • November 14, 2017
    America explores road user charging options
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax
    Read More
  • November 27, 2017
    America explores road user charging options
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax in
    Read More
  • January 18, 2012
    Evidence growing for distance-based charging
    The case is growing for an alternative to fuel taxation for funding highway infrastructure. A more sustainable system of mileage-based charging can be established in a way that is acceptable to the travelling public, writes Jack Opiola. Fuel tax - the lifeblood relied on for 80 years to maintain and improve roads and transit systems - is now in considerable jeopardy in the United States. Increased vehicle fuel efficiency and a poor economy already hamper generation of fuel tax revenue; now a recent federal
    Read More

Highlighted Content