In the face of growing oil demand the use of renewable feedstocks for the potential to supply transportation fuels, electricity, chemicals and materials is increasingly attractive. This review covers novel technologies and pathways to produce liquid fuels and chemical intermediates in an efficient and cost-effective way. Several commercial and pilot scale projects by companies including Anellotech, USA; Johnson Matthey, UK; GFBiochemicals, Italy; Quaker Oats, USA; Changchun Dacheng Group, China; Avantium, The Netherlands; BASF, Germany and Rennovia, USA are highlighted. The review focuses on the use of non-food competing biomass, namely cellulose and hemicellulose biomass, and the use of precious metals to effect the key reaction steps: hydrolysis, dehydration, hydrodeoxygenation, hydrogenation and oxidation. The value added products achieved include fine chemicals and functional materials. Among these are dimethylfuran, methylfuran, 5-(ethoxymethyl)furfural, γ-valerolactone, ethyl levulinate and valeric biofuels suitable as fuels and fuel additives as well as renewable alkanes in the C5–C15 range for gasoline and diesel fuel applications.

The post The Role of Noble Metal Catalysts in Conversion of Biomass and Bio-derived Intermediates to Fuels and Chemicals appeared first on Johnson Matthey Technology Review.

Trust in business is at an all-time low1). Trust in governments is rock bottom as well. At the same time, huge challenges remain to create sustainable societies. What to do? A new project to develop a…

Our consumption of the earth’s natural reserves has doubled in the last 30 years and a third of the planet’s land is now severely degraded. There is an urgent need to find solutions for land management…

To continue providing us with the products and services that we expect, businesses will handle increasingly large amounts of data. The security of this information is a major concern to consumers and companies…

Smart cities are more than just a buzzword. With expanding urban areas expected to host up to 70 % of the total world population by 2050, they are a necessity. “Standards make cities smarter” is the theme…

Whether it’s hailing a taxi, finding somewhere to stay on your travels or arranging help at home, new and sophisticated Websites and apps are ripping up traditional business models. A new ISO International…

International Standards were recognized by G7 leaders as a key tool for progress at the recent G7 Heads of State meeting held in Turin, Italy.

The development of gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines has provided a strong alternative to port fuel injection engines as they offer increased power output and better fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions. However, particulate matter (PM) emission reduction from GDI still remains a challenge that needs to be addressed in order to fulfil the increasingly…

The post Influence of Three-Way Catalyst on Gaseous and Particulate Matter Emissions During Gasoline Direct Injection Engine Cold-start appeared first on Johnson Matthey Technology Review.

Introduction “Green Catalysts for Energy Transformation and Emission Control” is book 1184 in the ACS Symposium Series, which has been published since 1974 and is peer-reviewed, consisting of original research papers and review articles. The purpose of the series is to publish comprehensive books based on current scientific research presented at ACS sponsored symposia. The…

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Methanol is increasingly being looked at as a way to reduce the emissions potential of transport fuel. It may be used in place or in addition to gasoline fuel, for example. The amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted in producing methanol can vary hugely according to the syngas generation technology selected and the choice of electrical or steam turbine drive for compressors and pumps. This paper looks at the impact of these technology choices on GHG emissions and how the carbon intensity of methanol used as a transport fuel compares to the carbon intensity of other hydrocarbon fuels. It is found that methanol produces lower well to wheel emissions than gasoline under all production methods studied and can even produce lower GHG emissions compared to ethanol as a fuel supplement. However, the same is not always true if methanol is used to produce gasoline from natural gas.

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