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Shell and Virent to develop biopetrol
4th April, 2008
Virent's catalytic process uses a variety of biomass-derived feedstocks to produce biopetrol
Virent's BioForming platform technology uses catalysts to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules like those produced at a petroleum refinery. Traditionally, sugars have been fermented into ethanol and distilled. The new biopetrol molecules have higher energy content than ethanol (or butanol) and deliver better fuel efficiency. They can be blended to make conventional petrol or combined with petrol containing ethanol.
The sugars can be sourced from non-food sources like corn stover, switchgrass, wheat straw and sugarcane pulp, in addition to conventional biofuel feedstock like wheat, corn and sugarcane.
The companies have so far collaborated for one year on the research. The BioForming technology has improved yield, product composition and cost. Future efforts will focus on further improving the technology and scaling it up for larger volume commercial production.
The collaboration could bring the availability of new biofuels that can be used at high blend rates in standard petrol engines. This could potentially eliminate the need for specialised infrastructure, new engine designs and blending equipment.
'The technical properties of today's biofuels pose some challenges to widespread adoption,' Graeme Sweeney, Shell executive VP Future Fuels and C02, says. 'Fuel distribution infrastructure and vehicle engines are being modified to cope, but new fuels on the horizon, such as Virent's, with characteristics similar or even superior to petrol and diesel, are exciting.'
'Virent has proven that sugars can be converted into the same hydrocarbon mixtures of today's petrol blends,' Randy Cortright, Virent's CTO, comments. 'Virent's catalytic process uses a variety of biomass-derived feedstocks to generate biopetrol at competitive costs.'
Virent's BioForming process converts biomass-derived feedstocks into conventional hydrocarbon fuels and products, including petrol, diesel, and jet fuel. The process delivers more net energy and offers a scalable, cost-effective alternative to traditional biofuel production routes.
