Page 264 - Biosystems Engineering

242 Cha pte r Se v e n

produce fungible fuels in centralized or rural refineries is likely to
receive more attention in the next few years.

7.8 Summary and Conclusions
The scientific and technical progresses made in the last 30 years led to
the birth of companies commercializing pyrolysis units. It is still pre-
mature to predict how many more years it will take to develop com-
mercial upgrading technologies, international fuel standards, advanced
combustion systems, bio-oil refineries, and more products, allowing
the full commercialization of crude bio-oils. The amount of scientific
and technological progress that needs to be done is still substantial, but
all the results so far obtained clearly indicate that the thermochemical
pathway (fast pyrolysis-bio-oil refineries) is very promising to convert
biomass into fuel and chemicals. The potential use of crude bio-oils as
source of fuels and chemicals depends on the cooperation between
research centers and universities, bio-oil producers, gas turbine/diesel
engine manufacturers, the energy and chemical sector representatives,
and investors. Liquid bio-oil has the considerable advantage of being a
storable and transportable material as well as a potential source of a
number of valuable chemicals that offer the attraction of much higher
added value than fuels. These characteristics offer clear advantages to
bio-oils as potential feedstock for new biorefineries. The development
of new concepts for bio-oil–based refineries is an important step in the
implementation of a global biomass economy.

References
Agblevor, F. A., Blesler, S., and Evans, R. J. 1994. Inorganic compounds in biomass
feedstock: Their role in char formation and effect on the quality of fast pyrolysis
oils. Proceedings of the Biomass Pyrolysis Oil, Properties and Combustion Meeting.
September 26–28, Estes Park, CO, 77–89.
Andrews, R. G., Fuleki, D., Zukowski, S., and Patnaik, P. C. 1996. Results of industrial
gas turbine tests using a biomass derived fuel. Developments in Thermochemical
Biomass Conversion Proceedings. 1: 495–506.
Andrews, R. G., Zukowski, S., and Patnaik, P. C. 1997. Feasibility of firing an indus-
trial gas turbine using a bio-mass derived fuel. In Developments in Thermochemical
Biomass Conversion, eds. A. V. Bridgwater and D. G. B. Boocock. London, UK:
Blackie Academic & Professional. 495–506.
Antal, J. M. and Gronli, M. 2003. The art, science and technology of charcoal produc-
tion. Industrial and Engineering Chemical Research 42:1619–1640.
Araujo, R. C. S. and Pasa, V. M. D. 2002. Thermal study of polyurethane elastomers
based on biopitch–PEG–MDI system. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry
67(2):313–319.
Araujo, R. C. S. and Pasa, V. M. D. 2003. Mechanical and thermal properties of
polyurethane elastomers based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadienes and
biopitch. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 88(3):759–766.
Araujo, R. C. S. and Pasa, V. M. D. 2004. New Eucalyptus tar-derived polyurethane
coatings. Progress in Organic Coatings 51(1):6–14.
Arisz, P. W., Lomax, J. A., and Boon, J. J. 1990. High–performance liquid chromatogra-
phy/chemical ionization mass spectrometric analysis of pyrolysates of amylose
and cellulose. Analytical Chemistry 62:1519.