(507e) Integration of Biomass Conversion and Solar Hydrogen Generation Technologies to Produce Renewable Fuels.

To meet the ever-increasing energy demand, researchers from the University of Tennessee (USA), Qatar University (Qatar), and the University of Stavanger (Norway) are working together to integrate biomass conversion and solar hydrogen production technologies. Both teams are working together to find a unique solution combining two alternative fuel production technologies to achieve the maximum benefits. One part of this project involves synthesizing complex metal oxide materials using a solution combustion synthesis approach. The derived materials are characterized, and then their redox reactivity is tested by performing multiple thermochemical cycles. In addition to the experimental work, computational thermodynamic modeling is conducted to estimate the solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency. The second part deals with the production of bio-crude/biochar via HTL/pyrolysis approaches. Various aspects of the bioresearch, which includes cultivation, characterization, mechanism, the effect of parameters, lipid extraction, transesterification, bio-crude/biochar production, etc., are under investigation. The foremost goal is to produce renewable fuel from sunlight, algae, water, and a supply of collected CO₂ from the natural gas processing units. The resources mentioned above can be effectively utilized to convert CO₂ and sunlight into algae biomass. The overall energy content of the produced renewable fuel comes entirely from solar energy (a) required during the algae growth and (b) in the form of H₂ needed for upgrading the bio-crude. The results obtained until now will be presented in detail.