Engineering faculty working on better biofuel
By Michelle MacArthurConsumers frustrated with soaring gas prices and concerned with their vehicles' carbon emissions may soon have a viable alternative to petroleum-based fuel, thanks in part to research underway at U of T's Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. Professor Emma Master is one of several researchers at the faculty currently studying biofuel, which can be used for automotive transportation at lower economic and environmental costs.
"As is true for all of us here in researching renewable fuel, the mission of biofuels research is also to increase environmental, political and economic security for all of us and for future generations," said Master at the first annual Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Energy Research Showcase earlier this summer.
Master presented a snapshot of some of the research under way in the faculty related to biofuels as part of the one-day event, which brought together researchers and practitioners from industry, government and academia to share energy research advances and discuss global energy challenges.
"It is critical in the near future to find an alternative to liquid fuel for transportation which requires minimal changes to our vehicles," she said. "This is where biofuels find somewhat of a niche."
According to a recent estimate from the International Energy Agency, approximately 70 per cent of petroleum consumption is currently used in transportation, said Master. This has led Canada, the United States, and some European countries to set targets to supplement petroleum consumption with biofuels: by five per cent in 2010 and by 30 per cent in 2030, which will translate into 200 billion liters of biofuels per year in the U.S. alone.
While interest in biofuels is on the rise, concerns about their impact on food supplies and biodiversity, as well as their cost as compared to fossil fuels such as oil, have prompted researchers like Master to focus on second-generation biofuels. Produced from biomass composed of such materials as the non-consumable portions of food crops, as well as crops not used for food purposes and agricultural and industrial waste, second generation biofuels are more sustainable, affordable and beneficial for the environment.
Master's presentation highlighted the many faculty members who are researching second generation biofuels and working to meet the target of achieving a two dollar per gallon production cost by 2010.
After outlining the diversity of feedstock and product options for second generation biofuels, Master went on to describe the different methods available to convert biomass sources into biofuels like ethanol, butanol, diesel, and bio-oil.
"In addition to the various forms of biomass we can consider for biofuel as well as the variety of forms of biofuel, there are different process options: physical conversion, chemical, and biological," she said, adding, "We are lucky in our faculty to have a strong research program in each of these transformation technologies."
With all of the current research and investment focused on biofuels, Master is optimistic that the 2010 targets will be met. "I am hopeful that [they] will because of the amount of investment that has recently been directed at second generation biofuels, particularly in the US and increasingly so in Canada as well. Increased emphasis on process integration and co-product development by the scientific community is also key" she said.