SPBI believes in forests as a fuel source
Ulf Svahn, Managing Director of the Swedish Petroleum and Biofuel Institute has high hopes for the future potential of Sweden’s forests. He believes in the renewable raw material lignin as a fuel component and in tall oil diesel, but gives a thumbs-down to gasification technology.
Ulf Svahn, Managing Director of the Swedish Petroleum and Biofuel Institute (SPBI), has high hopes for the future potential of Sweden’s forests. He believes in the renewable raw material lignin as a fuel component and in tall oil diesel.
The process of manufacturing biogasoline from lignin is similar to the process for fossil gasoline. Using a catalytic converter, heat and high pressure, the molecules are converted in a similar manner to gasoline, which enables a green gasoline to be mixed into fossil fuel in any proportion.
One trend that can be seen is the use of hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO), which is the collective name for diesel components from renewable sources. Tall oil from forest waste is used in Sweden.
“ The major advantage with both of these fuels (editor’s note: biogasoline and tall oil diesel) is that the infrastructure is already in place and no specially adapted vehicles are required.
According to Ulf Svahn, renewable processes rely on fossil processes – at least initially. Even if new techniques for producing renewable fuel are developed, production may still take place in refineries designed for producing fuel.
His attitude toward gasification technology, on the other hand, is skeptical. It is expensive and complicated.
“Gasification fuels such as DME and methanol don’t have a bright future. Although they are energy efficient, I find it difficult believing they will be widely used. But they both have the potential to become niche fuels. The process of producing ethanol by breaking down sugar has not gained momentum and is still too costly.”