About BTL
Securing and diversifying energy supply is a key challenge to the economic sustainability of emerging nations. At the core of today’s energy markets lie biofuels, which has become a key tool to attain energy security for many developing nations.
Economics of translating the promise of biomass to liquids depends on feedstocks options, technology at play and market mechanisms driving the renewable power generation business.
Biomass to Liquids technology, BTL, is, perhaps, at the most crucial stage of its evolution with rising investments in biomass gasification through Fischer Tropsch technologies. This is accompanied by new trends in biomass financing for biorefinery projects. BTL economics has today become key to the sustainability of new projects being planned.
Why BTL? F-T liquids has numerous advantages over ethanol, one being the ease of distribution. Moreover with gasification, the end result which is hydrogen rich synthesis gas can be used to make a wide range of chemical products or simply burned as a fuel.
While GTL & CTL technologies are already widely applied, these solutions cannot address the issue of climate change which BTL predominantly from non-food feedstocks has an upper hand. BTL Fuel is clear and virtually free of sulfur and aromatic substances. Greenhouse gas emissions from BTL Fuel are less than 10% of those from fossil fuels. Auto makers have acknowledged the benefits of BTL fuels, with some like Volkswagen & Daimler Chrysler taking a stake in BTL producer Choren.
Maximizing the BTL fuel chains is dependent on security and diversity of energy supply, energy efficiency, environmental performance and costs. The lower energy efficiency along fuel chains, compared to conventional oil-derived fuels, is offset by the diversity of biomass feedstocks supply.
Besides, production of BTL fuels is often more preferred than electricity generation from biomass. BTL fuels offer larger environmental benefits over conventional biofuels in terms of GHG enabling carbon credits through CDM projects. This will be driven by new bioenergy regulations being developed worldwide as also the shifts in bioenergy policies.
Though the production costs of BTL fuels is likely to be higher than conventional oil-derived fuels in the near to medium future, the cost benefit analysis based on a combined market realization of fuels, non-energy products (waxes, lubricants, kitchen oils, etc.), power and heat promises to make it a viable proposition in future.
Advancements in thermochemical conversion, biomass gasification systems, FT catalysis will lead to further rationalization of present technologies.
This site will translate global happenings in BTL markets and offer insights into market dynamics, technology and business shifts.
It is designed to offer the most appropriate platform for all stakeholders in global BTL business. It will cover the core aspects of feed stocks optimization, process technologies, project status, regulatory trends, product development, and market and trade issues concerning BTL value chain.
This site will also offer a platform for exchange of ideas and initiatives within the BTL markets.
