Fundamentals of Biofuels

Fundamentals of Biofuels, From Feedstock To The Market

Fundamentals of Biofuels is a 2-day course where participants learn about the types of biofuels, understand general plant science and learn to identify advantages and disadvantages of each type of biofuel.

According to the EPA, replacing fossil fuels with biofuels has the potential to reduce some undesirable aspects of fossil fuel production and use, including conventional and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollutant emissions, exhaustible resource depletion, and dependence on unstable foreign suppliers.

While biofuel technology is not perfected, it has evolved through several generations of significant advancements.

The predominant problem with first-generation biofuels is that they were derived from food crops (e.g., corn and sugar cane), which require fertilization, water, and soil, and thus directly compete with food production. Tight regulations on the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops further limit their utilization in sustainable transportation.

In order to mitigate these shortcomings, second-generation biofuels are derived from non-edible lignocellulose remnants of plants, which consist of up to 70% polymerized sugars and constitute the most abundant form of biomass on Earth.

These biofuels are attractive because their net carbon footprint (emitted carbon – consumed carbon) can be neutral or even negative and their generation from agricultural and forest residues or white wood chips provides economic advantages compared to crops.

Biofuel advocates believe biofuels are a cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative to petroleum and other fossil fuels, particularly within the context of rising petroleum prices and increased concern over the contributions made by fossil fuels to global warming.

According to the Department of Energy, the two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel, both of which represent the first generation of biofuel technology.

Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) is a renewable fuel that can be made from various plant materials, collectively known as “biomass.” Ethanol is an alcohol used as a blending agent with gasoline to increase octane and cut down carbon monoxide and other smog-causing emissions.

Most ethanol is made from plant starches and sugars—particularly cornstarch in the United States—but scientists are continuing to develop technologies that would allow for the use of cellulose and hemicellulose, the non-edible fibrous material that constitutes the bulk of plant matter.

The common method for converting biomass into ethanol is called fermentation.

Biodiesel is a liquid fuel produced from renewable sources, such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats and is a cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel. Biodiesel is nontoxic and biodegradable and is produced by combining alcohol with vegetable oil, animal fat or recycled cooking grease.

While still costly to produce, biofuel advantages include:

• Energy Efficiency
• Reducing Foreign Oil Dependency
• Health Benefits
• Positive Economic Impact
• Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Sustainability
• High-Quality Engine Performance

Fundamentals of Biofuels Course by Tonex

Fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training is a cross-discipline course drawing its content across the conventional and advanced biofuels industries as well as its integration into the traditional petroleum industry.  This course covers the science, technology, and management aspects of producing different types of biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel.

There are two types of biofuels currently existing in the market: Ethanol (corn- and cellulosic-based) and biodiesel (from biomass and used cooking oil).  In the fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training course, we give an overview on what each of these biofuels are made of, what processes are involved in their production, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how we can possibly make them more cost-effective and affordable.

In order for the biofuels to be feasible, they have to be economically and environmentally sustainable.  The fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training course elaborates the economics, environmental impacts, and policy issues of the biofuels in the United States to help you identify the lacks of the policy making bureaucracy and technical burdens of producing the affordable and sustainable biofuels.

Feedstock choices and technology are evolving rapidly as 1rst generation biodiesel and ethanol producers and marketers explore and move toward 2nd and 3rd generation fuels.  The fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training course provides a thorough education highlighting key topics from these rapidly evolving industries. In the fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training course, we introduce you to the biological and chemical characteristics of the biomass. We also teach you the principals of the biological, chemical, and physical conversion reactions of feedstock to biofuel.

Audience

In the fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training is a 2-day course designed for engineers, scientists, managers, investors, and policymakers who are involved in the field of biofuels, or are planning to apply for jobs in this field, or are interested in investing in or developing the field of biofuels.

Training Objectives

Upon completion of the fundamentals of biofuels, from feedstock to the market training course, the attendees will be able to

• Explain different types of biofuels
• Understand the general plant science
• Identify advantages and disadvantages of each types of biofuel
• Describe the feedstocks of various types of biofuels
• Explain the biology and chemistry of the biomass
• Understand the economics of feedstocks
• Explain the process of ethanol production
• Understand how biofuels other than ethanol can be produced.
• Describe different types of biodiesel
• Recognize the processes for converting feedstocks to biofuels by biochemical methods.
• Evaluate ways for converting feedstocks to biofuels by thermochemical methods.
• Understand the complete Bioprocess Engineering of biomass-to-biofuels conversion
• Describe transesterifican and esterification process
• Describe other processes of biodiesel production
• Discuss new methods such as using enzymes, resins, and membranes
• Identify the existing issues with biodiesel and ethanol
• Discuss environmental impacts of biofuels
• Discuss the Policy and incentive considerations
• Review economic and business dimensions of biofuels production from biomass.
• World perspective for biofuels

Training Outline

Overview Of The Biofuels Industry

• What is biofuels
• Energy units
• Terminology
• Energy security
• Different types of biofuels
• Greenhouse gases and climate change

Types Of Biomass And Available Resources

• Terrestrial crops
• Lignocellulos
• Algae
• Used Cooking Oil (UCO)

Ethanol

• Background and history of producing ethanol for fuel
• Disadvantages of ethanol
• Cellulosic ethanol
• Fermentation process
• Economics

Biodiesel

• Feedstocks
• Chemistry of biodiesel
• Pre-treatment process
• Conventional transesterification/esterification process
• Enzymatic process
• Other new methods of conversion
• Post-treatment or polishing process
• Catalysts
• By-products

Glycerin From Biodiesel

• Chemistry of glycerin
• Typical crude glycerin characteristics
• Applications of crude glycerin (tech-grade)
• Major contaminants in crude glycerin
• Pre-treatment methods prior refining
• Refining process
• Post-treatment process
• New technologies
• Refined glycerin (USP grade) characteristics
• Applications of the refined glycerin

Algae Biofuel

• History of producing fuel from algae
• Growing algal feedstock
• Microbiology and physiology of algae
• Harvesting and dewatering algal biomass
• Oil extraction methods from algal cells
• Conversion reactions of the extracted oil to fuel
• Algal biomass residue
• Economics of algae biofuel

Synergy Of Algae Farms And Wastewater Treatment Facilities

• System overview
• Water use reduction of algae farm
• Fertilizer consumption reduction of algae farm
• Nitrogen and phosphorus removal by algae from wastewater
• BOD reduction of wastewater by algae

Other Types Of Biofuels

• Bio-hydrogen
• Bio-Jet fuel
• Fuel cell

Economics, Policies And Regulations, And Environmental Impacts Of Biofuel

• CO2 emission and sequestering
• Projections of future biofuel market share, including assumptions and uncertainties
• Global perspective of biofuel policies
• Supply and demand challenges across the biofuels supply chain: including feedstock yields, product competition, policy uncertainties and user behaviors (trends and influences)
• Barriers to the implementation of biofuels policy
• Biofuel policy in the USA – RFS2 and RINs