Mazeoline: Biomass to Diesel via Furfural
Felde-Vassallo, Ryan Warner, Ross Callahan, Stephanie Paustian, Rebecca
Felde-Vassallo, Ryan
Warner, Ross
Callahan, Stephanie
Paustian, Rebecca
Abstract
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In the past several years, a movement to find a cleaner, more efficient and renewable energy source has become increasingly popular. Oil prices are unstable and rising to a never before seen high. Consumers are becoming more and more concerned with the carbon footprint they may be leaving behind due to the use of traditional energy resources. The rising emissions concern in conjunction with the rising energy costs has promoted private and government funding of the research and development of biofuels in order to find a safer, cleaner, and more readily available renewable energy resource. This project deals with the feasibility of a biodiesel plant with the capability to produce over 50000 pounds per hour of biodiesel from a corn stover biomass via a furfural intermediate. For simplification, the process has been broken down into three sections: corn stover to furfural, furfural to 2-methylfuran, and 2-methyfuran to biodiesel. The process along with a proposed power plant was simulated using Aspen Plus. Through an economic analysis preformed on the plant it was found to be profitable.
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University of Wyoming Libraries