Concentrating-Solar Biomass Gasification Process for a 3rd Generation Biofuel

A new concept of producing synfuel from biomass using concentrating solar energy as its main energy source is proposed in this paper. The aim of the concept is to obtain an easy to handle fuel with near-zero CO2 emission and reduced land-use requirements compared to first and second generation biofuels. The concept's key feature is the use of high-temperature heat from a solar concentrating tower to drive the chemical process of converting biomass to a biofuel, obtaining a near-complete utilization of carbon atoms in the biomass. H-2 from water electrolysis with solar power is used for reverse water gas shift to avoid producing CO2 during the process. In a chemical process simulation, we compare the solar biofuel concept with two other advanced synfuel concepts: second generation biofuel and coal-to-liquid, both using gasification technology and capture and storage of CO2 generated in the fuel production. The solar-driven third generation biofuel requires only 33% of the biomass input and 38% of total land as the second generation biofuel, while still exhibiting a CO2-neutral fuel cycle. With CO2 capture, second generation biofuel would lead to the removal of 50% of the carbon in the biomass from the atmosphere. There is a trade-off between reduced biomass feed costs and the increased capital requirements for the solar-driven process; it is attractive at intermediate biomass and CO2 prices.