Increasing biomass conversion efficiency to carbon-negative sustainable biofuels by combination of thermal and bio-electrochemical processes

NET-Fuels develops a novel pathway to produce carbon-negative biofuels from low value biogenic residues (such as digestate, calamity wood, pruning) through a combination of thermochemical conversion, separation of hydrogen from the syngas, oxy-fuel combustion of the tail gas, bio-electrochemical conversion of CO2 into methane and carbon sequestration in the biochar.

The process will also generate as an additional product a biofuel intermediary (high quality pyrolysis oil) which has proven conversion route into drop-in fuels.

The project will take the integrated process to TRL 5, providing a platform (in terms of technical feasibility, economic performance, and environmental and social sustainability) for further demonstration and validation projects.

In doing so it brings together a consortium of internationally recognized experts in biomass thermochemical conversion, bioreactors design, environmental sustainability and life cycle analysis, dynamic modelling, biochar utilisation, economic analysis and business case development and dedicated outreach, public engagement, and social sustainability analysis.

The Net-Fuels system will be able to deliver 25 Mtoe of advanced biofuels in 2030 (7% share of the transport fuel consumption), if exploiting between one third and one fourth of the total pool of available feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX in Europe. In correspondence of such objective, NET-Fuels will ensure 110 Mt of CO2 of net negative emission.