Page 24 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2020 publication

24 Spring 2020 European Energy Innovation

COMMUNICATION

Chemical Looping Gasification

A Novel Process for the Production of Biofuels Allowing for Net Negative CO2 Emissions

While notable advances towards Figure 1: Suggested biomass-to-biofuel chain
a de-carbonization of the energy
sector have been achieved in recent liquid fuels based on chemical of process scalability, make the
years, closing the carbon cycle looping gasification (CLG) of biogenic suggested process chain an
of the transport sector, which is residues is being developed within auspicious carbon-negative value
responsible for almost one quarter the scope of the EU-funded Horizon chain, promising an efficient de-
of the European GHGE emissions2 2020 project CLARA3, executed by carbonization of the transport sector,
and consumes 36% of the global thirteen international members while at the same time guaranteeing
final energy1, still signifies a key including universities, research market compatibility. Within the
challenge on the way towards a institutes, and industry partners. The scope of the CLARA project, the
carbon-neutral society. A major combination of CLG, which does not entire biomass-to-biofuel process
hurdle standing in the way of this goal rely on costly air separation, with chain, schematically shown in the
is the substitution of fossil fuels in other novel technologies related figure above, is to be investigated
heavy freight transport and aviation to biomass pre-treatment and gas in 1 MWth pilot scale, thus further
industry, where electrification is cleaning yields a process chain, propelling the novel technologies
currently not a viable option. In light allowing for major reductions in towards market maturity in an
of current policies and strategies biofuel production costs, so that industrially relevant environment. ●
related to climate protection and final end-product prices as low as
energy transition, implemented in 0.7 €/l can be realized. Moreover, the
order to further promote carbon- suggested process chain facilitates
neutral transport, novel, sustainable, net negative CO2 emissions, as
and yet competitive technologies are carbon of biogenic origin can be
urgently needed. captured efficiently within the
process, before being sequestered
One auspicious pathway to reduce (CCS) or utilized (CCU).
greenhouse gas emissions of the
transport sector is the large-scale
roll-out of so-called 2nd generation
biofuels, which are produced from
bio-based residue materials. By
focusing on biological non-food-
grade precursors, this approach
contributes not only to a sustainable
shifting from fossil to renewable
resources, but also facilitates the
large-scale economic production of
biofuels, without detrimental effects
on food availability and prices arising.
Yet, one key issue generally related
to 2nd generation biofuels is their high
production cost, which make them
uncompetitive in the current fossil
fuel governed market environment.

To alleviate this problem, an efficient These aspects, in combination https://clara-h2020.eu/
technology for the production of with projected advances in terms

1 International Energy Agency, Key World Energy Statistics 2018. OECD, 2018.
2 Transport emissions - A European Strategy for low-emission mobility, https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport_en.
3 This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 817841.

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