Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Woody Biomass Waste

The focus of this project is hydrothermal liquefaction of woody biomass waste. Woody biomass waste could include branches or woodchips from logging and wood processing. The waste material is ‘cooked’ with water at extreme temperature and pressure to produce waste oil. The low energy carrying woody biomass waste is converted into a higher energy carrying waste oil. This project will focus on increasing the number of pots used to cook the waste material, as well as focusing on using a less severe temperature range. This is because hemicellulose, a part of the woody biomass waste, breaks up much more quickly than other parts at lower temperatures. Essentially, if the makeup of the woody biomass can be understood on a cellular level, then we can modify how the waste oil product is expressed. This research will prove cost-effective to Greenfield Global if the high-pressure aspect of the process can be bypassed.

Faculty Supervisor:

Arno de Klerk

Student:

Partner:

CBFL

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Alberta

Program: