Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is planning to produce biofuels from wood waste in the campus. The university will install fuel pumps on its campus from where staff will be able to fill their cars with gasoline or diesel fuel.
TU/e intends to make biofuels from its own wood waste. Fuel pumps will be installed on the university campus at which staff will in the future be able to fill up their cars with diesel fuel or gasoline.
The TU/e researchers are making a small-scale experiment reactor that will treat 40 t of wood waste annually to obtain biofuel that can be used along with gasoline and diesel fuel. Through this project, TU/e is planning to demonstrate the growth of small-scale, eco-friendly fuel production from its own wood waste cost-effectively.
One of the fuels the university aims to generate is CyclOx. This fuel is a TU/e-patented diesel alternative that decreases soot emissions. In the near future, a combination of regular diesel fuel and CyclOx will be obtainable at the TU/e pump. A recent research conducted by Michael Boot in the Combustion Technology group showed that by adding 10% of CyclOx to regular diesel fuel, soot emissions can be reduced by up to 50%. CyclOx delays the start of ignition and gives more time for the mixture of diesel fuel and air to blend thoroughly. This creates a cleaner combustion process. Furthermore, this fuel meets the proposed EU standard.
The university’s own wood waste, such as wood packaging and pallets, will also generate other fuels, including ethanol (alcohol). This fuel will be provided at the TU/e pump in a 10:90 combination with gasoline.
The university researchers are in the first stage of the project and will install fuel pumps in 2012. Initially, the CyclOx/diesel mixture will be made available at this filling station for a specific test group. These users will be provided free fuels in return for which, they will provide the long- and short-term consequences of using this fuel. In this phase, an external body will continue to produce the CyclOx from mineral oil.
The TU/e researchers, headed by Emiel Hensen of Inorganic Materials Chemistry, are designing a demonstration reactor to transform wood waste into the above mentioned fuels. The plant is expected to be opened by mid-2015.