The European MacroFuels project has succeeded in making usable seaweed fuel
TNO scientists have been working on producing biofuels out of seaweed since 2016. The managed to produce 10 kilos of bioethanol and 8 kilos of bio-butanol in a TNO laboratory that opened a year ago. Recently the fuel has been tested in a car that succeeded in driving 80 kilometers on it.
Seaweed laboratory
TNO's seaweed laboratory in Petten consists of flexible test facilities that can be used to develop new processing methods to convert seaweed into biofuels and other raw materials. For the MacroFuels project, TNO processed seaweed into a raw material that can be used in the production of these fuels. This raw material was subsequently converted into bio-butanol with help from Wageningen University. In addition, partners from the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) produced bioethanol directly from seaweed.
Testing the fuels in regular passenger cars
By mixing the previously mentioned biofuels with fossil fuels, scientists produced E10 and B10 (10% biofuel blended). These are fuels that regular passenger cars can run on. In fact, these types of fuels are already available at gas stations in European countries like the Netherlands and Germany (be it that they are blended with different types of bio-ethanol) A total of approximately 100 liters of fuel with bio-ethanol was produced additionally another 100 liters of fuel was mixed with bio-butanol. Driving tests were then carried out with a passenger car on Danish roads. The researchers tested various types of driving behavior, from traffic jams to driving on the highway. It was demonstrated that "seaweed fuels" work the same as regular fuels, in terms of use and emissions. The aim of the scientists is to demonstrate that the range of sustainable fuels can be expanded with seaweed-based fuels.
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Existing equipment
The MacroFuels project has demonstrated that the steps to make fuel from seaweed are technically feasible. A biofuel was produced from a single batch of seaweed and tested in a car. All steps were performed with existing equipment in which the innovative process steps were performed. Starting with experiments on a laboratory scale, the process has successfully been scaled up to a multi-liter scale.
Future plans
In the coming years, the TNO seaweed program will concentrate on optimizing the process to produce biofuels so that upscaling and cost savings become possible. The aim of the European Renewable Energy Directive is to use 14% renewable fuels in transport (aviation, heavy road traffic, and inland shipping, of which 3,5% should be advanced biofuels such as those created from seaweed. All of this means that between 175 and 350 biorefineries should be build). TNO stated on their website that they will continue to contribute with research in the seaweed laboratory in upcoming years.
Additional applications
The production of biofuels, in combination with other high-quality products from seaweed, is a promising prospect. The knowledge that TNO has developed in the seaweed laboratory is applicable for a wide range of seaweed applications, such as food and bioplastics.
Although biofuel is projected to be only an intermediate solution to the fossil fuel problem, we are curious to see what the future will bring in this innovative field.
Source: TNO, (The Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research)
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