Jul. 2, 2013, Washington, DC – The Department of Energy (DOE) in the United States has announced four new advanced biofuel projects to help bring down the proce of gasoline, diesel and jet fuels, with a total investment of $13 million.
The projects are located in Utah, Tennesee, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, and focus on a variety of new technologies and methods.
Ceramatec, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, will receive up to $3.3 million and will use electrochemical deoxygenation to produce hydrocarbon products for further processing in conventional petroleum refineries.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennesee will receive up to $2.1 million and explore the potential of microbial electrolysis to remove the hydrogen from the water found in bio-oil. This technology will help reduce the corrosivity of bio-oil and improve the efficiency of converting hydrogen and biomass to biofuels.
In Norman, Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma will receive up to $4 million to investigate two methods to maximize renewable carbon and hydrogen that can be extracted and converted to a refinery-compatible intermediate for upgrading to a transportation fuel.
Finally, Virent Inc. in Madison, Wisconsin will receive up to $4 million to use its BioForming technology to efficiently convert carbon from lignocellulosic biomass into hydrocarbon fuels.
