Project description
Sustainable methanol production from biomass
Methanol is gaining attention as a fuel due to its high energy density and potential for cleaner combustion compared to traditional fossil fuels. Although methanol can be produced from renewable sources such as biomass, making it a viable option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at present, it is predominantly produced from fossil resources. The EU-funded Bio-MeGaFuel project proposes a new approach that converts low-value biomass into methanol with a minimal carbon footprint. By incorporating innovative technologies, the project aims to maximise efficiency and produce clean methanol in fewer steps, addressing growing demands for sustainable methanol production.
Objective
Besides being an important chemical commodity, methanol is a multipurpose fuel that can be used directly in internal combustion engines, blended with other fuels or for producing fuel additives, which improve engine performance. Methanol has great potential to be one of the selected low-carbon fuels for heavy road and transportation and marine freight. Technologies that are using methanol as fuel are gaining more momentum and attention globally. However, two key issues may challenge the further uptake of methanol in energy systems: i) methanol is today produced from fossil resources, and ii) methanol is used mainly by chemical industries, leaving small room for the energy sector to count on it. Bio-MeGaFuel is proposing a novel route that converts low value biomass to methanol via an intensified process with a minimum carbon footprint comparable to conventional methods. Bio-MeGaFuel uses chemical looping gasification to produce clean syngas from biomass, and membrane reactor technology to directly produce methanol from syngas. A key feature of Bio-MeGaFuel is the possibility to maximize the conversion of hydrogen and carbon (via CO2 recirculation) from biomass waste to methanol with the minimum number of process steps. The process is based on the conversion of biomass waste aimed at increasing the capacity of biomethanol production in a sustainable way and addressing the increasing demand for biomethanol as a fuel. Bio-MeGaFuel is underpinned by technologies that are being developed to TRL 5 by an expert consortium. Besides, it is backed by a strong reference group including the business leaders and market players in biomass supply, whole methanol production value chain, potential end users, and potential future players in the production, management, and distribution of biomethanol. This greatly ensures the quality of the research and appropriate exploitation of the results predicted in Bio-MeGaFuel.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryalcohols
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
501 15 Boras
Sweden