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TITLE

BIOFUELS
MODULE

FUEL AND ENERGY SYSTEMS ENT744


SUPERVISOR Prof Griffiths Dr R Marsh

AUTHOR VIKAS VERNEKAR

Date of Submission 16-02-2008

Abstract:
Biomass refers to non-fossilized and biodegradable organic material originating from plants, animals, and microorganisms derived from biological sources. Biomass includes products, byproducts, residues and waste from agriculture, forestry and related industries, as well as the non-fossilized and biodegradable organic fractions of industrial and municipal solid wastes. Biomass also includes gases and liquids recovered from the decomposition of non-fossilized and biodegradable organic material. There are three ways to use biomass. It can be burned to produce heat and electricity, changed to gas-like fuels such as methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide or changed to a liquid fuel. Renewable liquid biofuels for transportation have recently attracted huge attention in different countries all over the world because of its renewability, sustainability, common availability, regional development, rural manufacturing jobs, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and its biodegradability. This entry deals with biomass as an energy source. Different types of biomass are described from the energy perspective, focusing on those more interesting for energy application. The main energy conversion technologies available are outlined, as well as the properties of their main products. Finally, an overview over the benefits that come from biomass exploitation for energy purposes is provided.

Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Introduction......4 Biorenewable Energy Sources ....5 Biomass ....5 Biomass feedstocks... .6 Conversion Process .....6 Biomass Combustion ..7 Thermo chemical Conversion .8 Biochemical Conversion ...10 Fuel of the future ..14 Conclusion ..15 References 16

1. Introduction :
Energy plays a vital role in our everyday lives. Energy is one of the vital inputs to the socioeconomic development of any country. Energy sources can be classified into three groups: fossil, renewable, and nuclear (fissile). Fossil fuels were formed in an earlier geological period and are not renewable. The fossil energy sources include petroleum, coal, bitumens, and natural gas, oil shales, and tar sands. Today fuels and chemicals are predominately derived from unsustainable mineral resources, petroleum, and coal, which leads to environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and problems with energy security. Thus Todays world is facing two critical problems one is high fuel prices, and the other is climatic changes. Experts suggest that current oil and gas reserves would suffice to last only a few more decades. It is well known that transport is almost totally dependent on fossil fuels, particularly petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas. Of special concern are the liquid fuels used in automobiles. Hence, there has been widespread recent interest in learning more about obtaining liquid fuels from non-fossil sources. In fact, the world is on the verge of an unprecedented increase in the production and use of biofuels for transport. Production of grain-based ethanol and vegetable-oil-based biodiesel is today facing difficulties due to competition with food supply. In this case study Im going to discuss the production of various usable liquid fuels from biomass by using a variety of technologies and future trends in the subject area. Biofuels appear to be a potential alternative greener energy substitute for fossil fuels. They are renewable and available throughout the world. Biomass can contribute to sustainable development and globally environmental preservation since it is renewable and carbon neutral.

2. Biorenewable Energy Sources


Biorenewable materials such as lignocellulosic materials, crops, grasses, animal wastes, and biogas are combustible renewable energy sources. Biomass resources include various natural and derived materials, such as woody and herbaceous species, wood wastes, bagasse, agricultural and industrial residues, waste paper, municipal solid waste, sawdust, biosolids, grass, waste from food processing, animal wastes, aquatic plants and algae, etc. There are three ways to use biomass. It can be burned to produce heat and electricity, changed to gas-like fuels such as methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide or converted to a liquid fuel. Liquid fuels, also called biofuels, are predominantly two forms of alcohol: ethanol and methanol.

3. Biomass :
The term biomass refers to non-fossilized and biodegradable organic material originating from plants, animals, and microorganisms derived from biological sources. Biomass includes products, byproducts, residues and waste from agriculture, forestry and related industries, as well as the non-fossilized and biodegradable organic fractions of industrial and municipal solid wastes. Biomass also includes gases and liquids recovered from the decomposition of nonfossilized and biodegradable organic material. Biomass residues mean biomass byproducts, residues and waste streams from agriculture, forestry, and related industries. Biomass is organic material that has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. Biomass is commonly recognized as an important renewable energy, which is considered to be such a resource that during the growth of plants and trees; solar energy is stored as chemical energy via photosynthesis, which can be released via direct or indirect combustion. There are three ways to use biomass. It can be burned to produce heat and electricity, changed to gas-like fuels such as methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide or changed to a liquid fuel. Liquid fuels, also called biofuels, include mainly two forms of alcohol: ethanol and methanol. Because biomass can be changed directly into a liquid fuel, it may someday supply much of our transportation fuel needs for cars, trucks, buses, airplanes, and trains. The calorific value of a fuel is usually expressed as the higher heating value (HHV) or the lower heating value (LHV). The difference is caused by the heat of evaporation of the water formed from the combustion of hydrogen in the material and the original moisture. Note that the difference between the two heating values depends on the chemical composition of the fuel.
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The most important property of biomass feedstocks with regard to combustionand to the other thermochemical processesis the moisture content, which influences the energy content of the fuel. Wood, just after falling, has a typical 55% water content and LHV of approximately 7.1 MJ/kg; logwood after 23 years of airdrying may present 20% water content and LHV of 14.4 MJ/kg; pellets show a quite constant humidity content of about 8% with LHV equal to 17 MJ/kg.

4. Biomass Feedstocks :
Biomass feedstocks are marked by their tremendous diversity, which makes them rather difficult to characterize as a whole. Feedstocks that can be utilized with conversion processes are primarily the organic materials now being landfilled. These include forest products wastes, agricultural residues, organic fractions of municipal solid wastes, paper, cardboard, plastic, food waste, green waste, and other waste. Non-biodegradable organic feedstocks, such as most plastics, are not convertible by biochemical processes. Biobased materials require pretreatment by chemical, physical, or biological means to open up the structure of biomass. The major categories of biomass feedstock are as follows. Table-1 1. Forest products:  Wood  Logging residues  Trees and wood residues  Sawdust, bark, etc. 2. Biorenewable wastes:  Agricultural wastes  Crop residues  Mill wood wastes  Urban wood wastes  Urban organic wastes 3. Aquatic plants:  Algae  Water weed  Water hyacinth  Reed and rushes 4. Sugar crops:  Sugar cane  Sugar beets  Molasses  Sorghum 5. Food crops:  Grains  Oil crops 7. Landfill 8. Industrial organic wastes 9. Energy crops:  Short rotation woody crops  Herbaceous woody crops  Grasses  Starch crops  Sugar crops

5. Conversion Processes :
There are different biological and chemical conversion processes that can be used to convert feedstocks into biofuels. Depending on the feedstock and the fuel that is to be produced, conversion can be done through several different routes using a range of biological, chemical and thermal conversion processes. When biomass is used directly in an energy application without chemical processing then it is combusted. Conversion may be effected by thermochemical,
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biological, or chemical processes. These may be categorized as follows: direct combustion, pyrolysis, gasification, liquefaction, supercritical fluid extraction, anaerobic digestion, fermentation, acid hydrolysis, enzyme hydrolysis, and esterification. The following Table-2 shows the various processes for energy production from biomass.

RESOURCES
Solid Biomass (wood, straw)

CONVERSION
Combustion

PRODUCT
Heat

MARKET
Heat/CHP

Gasification Wet Biomass (Organic waste, manure) Pyrolysis

Fuel gas Electricity Bio oil

Sugar and starch plants(sugerbeat,cereals)

Digestion

Biogas

Transportation fuel

Hydrolysis Oil crops (rape-seed, sunflower)

Bioetanol

Esterification

Biodiesel

Chemicals

6. Biomass Combustion :
The burning of wood and other solid biomass is the oldest energy technology used by man. Combustion is a well-established commercial technology with applications in most industrialized and developing countries, and development is concentrated on resolving environmental problems, improving the overall performance with multifuel operation, and increasing the efficiency of the power and heat cycles (CHP). The devices used for direct combustion of solid biomass fuels range from small domestic stoves (110 kW) to the large boilers used in power and CHP plants (O5 MW).To achieve complete burnout and high efficiencies in small-scale combustion, downdraft boilers with inverse flow have been introduced, Co-Combustion : Bioenergy production may be hampered by limitations in the supply or by fuel quality. In those cases, the cofiring of several types of biomass or cofiring biomass with coal ensures flexibility in operation, both technically and economically. Several concepts have been developed:

Co-combustion or direct cofiring. The biomass is directly fed to the boiler furnace, if needed, after physical preprocessing of the biomass such as drying, grinding, or metal removal is applied. This typically takes place in bubbling or CFB combustors. Such technologies can be applied to a wide range of fuels, even for very wet fuels like bark or sludge. Multifuel fluidized bed boilers achieve efficiencies over 90% while flue gas emissions are lower than for conventional grate combustion due to lower combustion temperatures. Indirect cofiring. Biomass is first gasified and the fuel gas is cofired in the main boiler. Sometimes the gas has to be cooled and cleaned, which is more challenging and implies higher operation costs. Parallel combustion. The biomass is burnt in a separate boiler for steam generation. The steam is used in a power plant together with the main fuel. Problems in Biomass Combustion: Biomass has a number of characteristics that makes it more difficult to handle and combust than fossil fuels. The low energy density is the main problem in handling and transport of the biomass, while the difficulties in using biomass as fuel relates to its content of inorganic constituents. Some types of biomass used contain significant amounts of chlorine, sulfur, and potassium. The saltsKCl and K2SO4are quite volatile, and the release of these components may lead to heavy deposition on heat transfer surfaces, resulting in reduced heat transfer and enhanced corrosion rates. Severe deposits may interfere with operation and cause unscheduled shut downs. In order to minimize these problems, various fuel pretreatment processes have been considered, including washing the biomass with hot water or using a combination of pyrolysis and char treatment.

7. THERMOCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF BIOMASS : Pyrolysis and gasification are the two most typical thermochemical processes that do not produce useful energy directly because they convert the original bioenergy feedstock into more convenient energy carriers such as producer gas, oil, methanol, and char. Pyrolysis : Pyrolysis is a process for thermal conversion of solid fuels, like biomass or wastes, in the complete absence of oxidizing agent (air/oxygen) or with such limited supply that
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gasification does not occur to any appreciable extent. Modern processes such as rotary kiln carbonization are presently used in industry. Bio-oil production is potentially very interesting as a substitute for fuel oil and as a feedstock for production of synthetic gasoline or diesel fuel. Pyro-gas has higher energy density than gasification gas (syngas) because it has been created without oxygen (and nitrogen, if air is employed), hence it does not contain the gaseous products of partial combustion. Gasification :Gasification technology has been developing since the18th century, and it is still in a development phase. Gasification is a conversion process that involves partial oxidation at elevated temperature. It is intermediate between combustion and pyrolysis. In fact, oxygen (orair) is present but it is not enough for complete combustion. This process can start from carbonaceous feedstock such as biomass or coal and convert them into a gaseous energy carrier. The overall gasification process may be split into two main stages: the first is pyrolysis stage, i.e., where oxygen is not present but temperature is high, and here typical pyrolysis reactions take place; the second stage is the partial combustion, where oxygen is present and it reacts with the pyrolyzed biomass to release heat necessary for the process.The following Table shows a general overview on specific features of the conversion technologies analyzed here, showing the related advantages and drawbacks.

Table 3 Qualitative comparison of technologies for energy conversion of biomass

Process

Technology

Economics

Environment

Market potential

Combustionheat
Combustionelectricity

+++ + + (+) + (+) (+)

# ## ### ####

+++ + + (+) + (+ +) (+ + +)

+++ +++ +++ + + (+)

Gasification Pyrolysis

+, Low; +++, High; #, Cheap; ###, Expensive


Although commercial interests will ultimately determine the conversion and associated processes used to make biofuels, they will need to be judged against several sustainability metrics. These include:
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The net GHG emissions over the life cycle. The carbon efficiency (how much carbon appears in the products as fraction of the carbon in the feed biomass); The energy efficiency (the amount of energy embodied in the products as a fraction of that embodied in the feed biomass); The fossil energy ratio (the amount of renewable energy produced per unit of fossil energy used over the lifecycle); Cost per unit of energy; Other environmental impact assessments such as local air pollution, eutrophication, acidification etc.

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BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF BIOMASS :

Biochemical conversion of biomass refers to processes that decompose the original biomass into useful products. Commonly, the energy product is either in the liquid or in gaseous forms, hence it is called biofuel or biogas, respectively. Biofuels are very promising for transportation sector, while biogas is used for electricity and heat production. Biogas from Anaerobic Digestion : The most common way to produce biogas is anaerobic digestion of biomass. Anaerobic digestion is the bacterial breakdown of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. This biochemical process produces a gas called biogas, principally composed of methane (30%60% in volume) and carbon dioxide. Such a biogas can be converted to energy in the following ways: Biogas converted by conventional boilers for heating purposes at the production plant Biogas for combined heat and power generation. Biogas and natural gas combinations and integration in the natural gas grid. Biogas upgraded and used as vehicle fuel in the transportation sector. Biogas utilization for hydrogen production and fuel cells.

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Biofuels for Transport: A wide range of chemical processes may be employed to produce liquid fuels from biomass. The main potential biofuels are outlined below. Biodiesel is a methyl-ester produced from vegetable or animal oil to be used as an alternative to conventional petroleum-derived diesel fuel. Compared to pure vegetable or animal oil, which can be used in adapted diesel engines as well, biodiesel presents lower viscosity and slightly higher HHV. Biodiesel is a methyl-ester produced from vegetable or animal oil to be used as an alternative to conventional petroleum-derived diesel fuel. Compared to pure vegetable or animal oil, which can be used in adapted diesel engines as well, biodiesel presents lower viscosity and slightly higher HHV. compatible with existing diesel engines only if blended with conventional diesel fuel at rates not higher than 5%10% in volume. Higher rates may lead to emission and engine durability problems.

Bioethanol is ethanol produced from biomass or the biodegradable fraction of waste. Bioethanol can be produced from any biological feedstock that contains appreciable amounts of sugar or other matter that can be converted into sugar, such as starch or cellulose. Also, ligno-cellulosic materials (wood and straw) can be used, but their processing into bioethanol is more expensive. Application is possible to modified spark ignition engines.

Biomethanol is methanol produced from biomass. Methanol can be produced from gasification syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) or wood dry distillation (old method with low methanol yields). Most all syngas for conventional methanol production is produced by the steam reforming of natural gas into syngas. In the case of biomethanol, a biomass is gasified first to produce a syngas from which the biomethanol is produced. Application is possible to spark ignition engines and fuel cells. Compared to ethanol, methanol presents more serious handling issues because it is corrosive and poisonous for human beings. Bio-MTBE (methyl-tertio-butyl-ether) is a fuel produced on the basis of biomethanol. It is suitable for blends with petrol gasoline.
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Liquid biofuels are important for the future because they replace petroleum fuels. Biofuels are generally considered as offering many priorities, including sustainability, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, regional development, social structure and agriculture, security of supply . Biofuels are non-polluting, locally available, accessible, sustainable, and are a reliable fuel obtained from renewable sources. First generation biofuels refer to biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oils, or animal fats using conventional technology. The basic feedstocks for the production of first generation biofuels are often seeds or grains such as wheat, which yields starch that is fermented into bioethanol, or sunflower seeds, which are pressed to yield vegetable oil that can be used in biodiesel. Table 4 shows the classification of renewable biofuels based on their production technologies. Table-4
Classification of biofuels based on their Production techmologies Generation Feedstock Example First generation biofuels Sugar, starch, vegetable oils, Bioalcohols, vegetable oil, or animal fats Biodiesel,biosyngas, biogas Second generation biofuels Non-food crops, wheat straw, corn, wood, solid waste, energy crops Algae Vegetable oil, biodiesel Bioalcohols, bio-oil, bio-DMF, Biohydrogen,bio-FischerTropsch diesel, wood,diesel Vegetable oil, biodiesel Biogasoline

Third generation biofuels Fourth generation biofuels

Second and third generation biofuels are also called advanced biofuels. Second generation biofuels are made from non-food crops, wheat straw, corn, wood, energy crop using advanced technology. Algae fuel, also called oilgae or third generation biofuel, is a biofuel from algae. Algae are low-input/high-yield (30 times more energy per acre than land) feedstocks to produce biofuels using more advanced technology. On the other hand, an appearing fourth generation is based in the conversion of vegoil and biodiesel into biogasoline using the most advanced technology. Renewable liquid biofuels for transportation have recently attracted huge attention in different countries all over the world because of its renewability, sustainability, common availability, regional development, rural manufacturing jobs, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and its biodegradability. Table 4 shows the availability of modern transportation fuels.
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Availability of modern transportation fuels Fuel type Gasoline Bioethanol Biodiesel Compressed natural gas (CNG) Hydrogen for fuel cells Availability Current Excellent Moderate Moderate Excellent Poor Future Moderate-poor Excellent Excellent Moderate Excellent

There are several reasons for biofuels to be considered as relevant technologies by both developing and industrialized countries (Demirbas, 2006). They include energy security reasons, environmental concerns, foreign exchange savings, and socioeconomic issues related to the rural sector. Due to its environmental merits, the share of biofuel in the automotive fuel market will grow fast in the next decade (Kim and Dale, 2005; Demirbas and Balat, 2006). The advantages of biofuels are the following: (a) they are easily available from common biomass sources; (b)they represent a carbon dioxide-cycle in combustion, (c) they have a considerable environmentally friendly potential; (d) they have many benefits for the environment, economy, and consumers; and (e) they are biodegradable and contribute to sustainability (Puppan, 2002). Future sources : Synthetic biology is a rapidly progressing area of science with the potential to produce novel chemicals, on a large scale, through the redesign of biological pathways or organisms. There is considerable interest in the possibility of engineering micro-organisms to manufacture hydrocarbons (Ladygina et al 2006). Similarly, the ability of plants to produce complex wax layers on their leaves, as a protective barrier against environmental stresses,also provides the potential for the design of new sustainable production systems of alkanes. In general, biological processes are relatively slow but can deliver a well defined product, which is readily purified, although it may have substantial energy or capital costs; while thermal processes are rapid but generally deliver a mixed product that is more difficult to purify and refine to a useful product.

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New Technologys in Biofuel : Algae : Microalgae can be cultivated and manipulated to produce high yields of oil that can be used as a feedstock for further refining into transport oil. The potential biomass yield of microalgae is vast compared to conventional agricultural biofuel feedstocks and it has few of their negative impacts Therefore, the production of microalgae biofuels at scale would represent a disruptive technological breakthrough. However, many challenges remain to make low cost algae biofuels a commercial reality. Butenol : Biobutanol is a 4-carbon alcohol that is derived from biomass fermentation. It is more favorable than ethanol because its structure is more similar to gasoline, and as such it has energy density closer to gasoline The advantages of biobutanol include the fact that it can be shipped on existing oil pipelines and it does not require any engine conversion to run (it is non-corrosive like gasoline). Basically biobutanol can be used straight away once its produced. However there are presently difficulties in finding organisms that can ferment into biobutanol directly. The yields are very low, and there is a lot of research effort in order to synthesize genetically microbes that could ferment into butanol. 9. Fuel of the future : It is important to assess biofuels on the basis of future trends and needs. While it is widely accepted that predicting specific future energy needs is very difficult, predicting general future trends is both feasible and helpful, as it allows us to more effectively plan for the long-term impacts of those trends. Increasing demand of oil: It is believed that the increasing population and rise in living standards will lead to shortages of oil due to higher demand. World demand for oil is expected to grow by 54 percent in the first 25 years of the 21st century, according to the Energy Information Agency of the U.S. government. To meet this demand countries have to pump an additional 44 million barrels of oil each day by 2025.5 In such a scenario, the oil producing countries will not be able to meet this increased demand. In this case the Biofuels going to fulfill these demands. Global Warming: The global warming is a serious concern which will lead to calamities like floods and droughts, gale winds, a rise in sea-levels and extreme weather conditions. Under such conditions it becomes more and more difficult to justify extensive exploration for new resources of oil and easier to justify investments in alternatives like biofuels
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Considering the above trends the importance of developing biofuels sources as an alternative to oil can be appreciated. While no current fuel alternative is perfect, it is critical that we rapidly develop the most viable alternatives in order to reduce our overly risky reliance on petroleum oil. Biofuels, with their proven current production technologies, cost competitiveness, and ability to utilize existing automotive and fueling-station infrastructure, appear to be the most viable alternative currently. Proper planning and implementation of biofuels programs today will help assure us a secured energy tomorrow. In the future, when the world faces the almost inevitable shortages of petroleum oil, biofuels will be the best alternative – the Fuels of the Future. 10. Conclusion : Biomass refers to a very wide range of substances produced by biological processes. In the energy field, special focus has been and will be placed on vegetable biomass such as wood and agricultural by-products because of the energy potential as well as economic and environmental benefits. It is expected that demand for biomass will rise considerably in the future, because of: (a) population growth, particularly in developing countries; (b) greater use in the industrialized countries due partly to environmental considerations; and (c) technological developments which could allow either the production of new or improved biomass fuels, or the improved conversion of biofuels into more efficient energy carriers thus stimulating demand for feedstock. But biomass energy still faces many barriers - economic, social, institutional and technical. It is a large and varied source of energy at very uneven stages of development, both with respect to scale and technological requirements Biomass can be converted to energy in three main pathways: combustion, thermochemical processing, and biochemical processing. The combustion of solid biomass for the production of heat or electricity is the most viable technology, while pyrolysis and gasification still face economic and reliability issues. Among biochemical processes, anaerobic digestion is often used to reduce the environmental impact of hazardous waste and landfills. Biochemical processes are also concerned with the conversion of biomass into useful fuels for transportation, such as such as Biodiesel, Biobutanol, or algae-derived ethanol are also promising, each one for its own reasons and drawbacks, but large-scale production lies still several years in the future. All of them can effectively contribute to the transition to a more sustainable transportation system at zero GHG emissions.Biomass represents a viable option for green energy resources of the 21st century.
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11.Reference :
1. Biofuels: Securing the Planets Future Energy Needs (Green Energy and Technology) By

Ayhan Demirbas
2. Technology Status and Future Trends, Technology Assessment and Decision Support Tools

Prepared by Sivasamy Arumugam 1, Sergey Zinoviev1, and Paolo Foransiero1. 3. Bioenergy for a Sustainable Environment Edited by Frank Rosillo-Calle, Peter de Groot, Sarah L. Hemstock, and Jeremy Woods. 4. Bioprocess Engineering Principles by Pauline M. Doran 5. Biofuel and Global Biodiversity 6. Fact sheet on Biofuels World Conservation Congress, 2008 7. Biofuel production technologies status, prospects and implications for trade and development New York and Geneva, 2008. 8. Butanol: The Other Alternative Fuel David E. Ramey ButylFuel, LLCBlacklick, OH. 9. Sustainable biofuels: prospects and challenges, January 2008 ISBN 978 0 85403 662 2 10. Cellulosic Ethanol and the future of Biofuels by Efthymios Kallos and Theodora Apostolopoulou. http://www.scf.usc.edu/~kallos/Files/Biofuels.pdf

11. Directory: Biodiesel from Algae Oil. [Cited; Available from: http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Biodiesel_from_Algae_Oil. 12 BioButanol. [cited; Available from: http://www.butanol.com/].

12. Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering and Technology By, Barney L. Capehart University of Florida Gainesville, USA
13. http://www.library.idsc.gov.eg/GUI/Globals/Upload//BULLETIN_ATTACHMENT/90/efiles/futurology/social%20technologies.pdf

14. Application of Biomass Energy Technologies (HABITAT, 1993, 168 p.) http://nzdl.sadl.uleth.ca/cgi

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