Grad Student Believes
Wood May Replace Oil
August 04, 2005 — By Associated Press
MOSCOW, Idaho — A University of Idaho
graduate student believes the answer to the world's crude oil crisis
grows on trees. Juan Andres Soria says he has developed a process that
turns wood into bio-oil, a substance similar to crude oil.
The process -- in which sawdust and methanol are heated to 900 degrees
Fahrenheit to create the bio-oil -- is already drawing some interest
from energy and wood product companies, Soria said.
"But because it's quite novel, there's a bit of reserve," he said.
Soria is testing his theory with the help of Armando McDonald, associate
professor of wood chemistry and composites in the University of Idaho's
College of Natural Resources.
Though the idea may sound far-fetched, Soria and McDonald say the theory
has precedent in nature -- coal is the result of trees being subjected
to high amounts of heat and pressure.
"We're trying to speed up the process," McDonald said. "Rather than
doing it in millions of years, can we do it in minutes?"
So far, Soria's research has focused on sawdust from Ponderosa pine
trees, although he said any variety of tree could be used, including
fast-growing varieties like those being cultivated for wood pulp. Only
about 2 percent of the mass is lost in the heating process, he said.
After the bio-oil is produced, he separates it by boiling points, or
grades. So far, he said, he's identified oil grades that could someday
replace gasoline, tar, glues and resins that make things like lawn
furniture.
Ponderosa pine sawdust is only the beginning, Soria and McDonald claim.
Next, they will begin testing to see if they can get bio-oil from pine
needles and bark.
The two are doing the research without grant money. Soria plans to use
the research in his dissertation for his doctorate. If the private
sector likes the idea enough to back it financially, Soria said he could
put together an industrial-size bio refinery in five years.
Still, he said, the bio-oil isn't likely to be an immediate competitor
to crude oil. Crude oil currently costs about $60 a barrel, and bio-oil
will only be competitive when the cost of crude oil reaches $80 a
barrel, Soria said.
Source: Associated Press |