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Garden and wood waste could become biofuel
17/03/2010
It has been announced that the Carbon Trust, together with the University of York, are researching the feasibility of converting wood and garden waste into biofuel using microwave technology.
In the research the waste matter is heated in a process called pyrolysis, where no oxygen is present. The study will investigate if this process could be employed to create a biofuel from household and forestry waste, which could then be either blended with fossil fuels or used on its own.
The Carbon Trust reckons that this new pyrolysis fuel could have a 95 per cent lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
It was also announced that a consortium of British companies is being formed to work with existing pyrolysis technology to create biofuel from organic waste matter. It is hoped that the consortium will produce its first biofuel by 2014.
The chief executive of the Carbon Trust, Tom Delay, said: "Genuinely sustainable biofuels will be critical to help reduce the UK’s transport emissions. By developing a method which overcomes the issues associated with some existing biofuels the UK has a vital role to play."
He added: "In just a few years pyrolysis could change the way in which we produce biofuels and by 2020 be a commercially viable option. Within a decade we could see a network of mini biofuel refineries sited near landfill sites and other waste sources across Britain."
In the research the waste matter is heated in a process called pyrolysis, where no oxygen is present. The study will investigate if this process could be employed to create a biofuel from household and forestry waste, which could then be either blended with fossil fuels or used on its own.
The Carbon Trust reckons that this new pyrolysis fuel could have a 95 per cent lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
It was also announced that a consortium of British companies is being formed to work with existing pyrolysis technology to create biofuel from organic waste matter. It is hoped that the consortium will produce its first biofuel by 2014.
The chief executive of the Carbon Trust, Tom Delay, said: "Genuinely sustainable biofuels will be critical to help reduce the UK’s transport emissions. By developing a method which overcomes the issues associated with some existing biofuels the UK has a vital role to play."
He added: "In just a few years pyrolysis could change the way in which we produce biofuels and by 2020 be a commercially viable option. Within a decade we could see a network of mini biofuel refineries sited near landfill sites and other waste sources across Britain."
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