Researchers Discover Use for Carbon Dioxide in Conversion of Biomass Into Biofuel

PhysOrg.com
November 11, 2009

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Columbia University have successfully discovered a beneficial use for carbon dioxide in the conversion of organic materials, such as grass and bark, into fuel. Their findings show that if utilized on a broad scale, their technique could help significantly reduce overall carbon emissions, both from the use of carbon dioxide in biofuel production and the creation of a more energy-efficient production process. The study appears this week on the website of the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology.

Increasing global energy use coupled with the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide has resulted in the exploration of viable alternative fuel sources that are carbon neutral. Biomass fuels -- consisting of organic, biological materials—hold promise as renewable sources for energy, but present a double-edged sword: Current approaches for turning biomass into fuel involve a considerable amount of energy and water to form the steam needed to convert the raw, organic materials. In addition, the conventional conversion of such fuels typically leads to the emission of additional atmospheric carbon dioxide.

To solve this challenge, Marco Castaldi, assistant professor, and Heidi Butterman, postdoctoral researcher, in the department of earth and environmental engineering at Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, have found that by using carbon dioxide in the actual conversion of biomass, the process becomes more energy efficient and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

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