REAL TIME FEEDBACK CONTROL OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION TO BIOFUELS

Biomass gasification is a very efficient method for extracting energy from many different types of organic materials. It is a process that converts once living organic materials into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Biomass gasification techniques can be employed on a wide variety of feedstock to produce biojet and biodiesel. We propose a four step process of 1) biomass conversion to syn gas, 2) catalytic conversion to ethanol, 3) dehydration to ethylene and 4) oligomerization ethylene to aliphatic hydrocarbons. The knowhow and technology already exists for this conversion the only thing that is missing is the technology for the proper real time feedback and management of feedstock to make the process efficient. The development of the process monitoring and control hardware is the focus of this proposal. Intelligent control is needed to consistently control the biomass gasification process to yield a syngas composition matching downstream process needs and prevent excessive tar levels and unwanted emissions. Most of the parameters affecting product composition can be readily controlled but the feedstock composition and moisture content are naturally variable and very difficult to measure continuously. Thus the novel control means proposed here is required to control the biorefinery for optimized and efficient biofuel production.