Biomass Energy Conversion Center (BECON)

Supercritical Fluid Gasification

Supercritical fluid reactions hold a great deal of promise in the biomass conversion to fuels and chemicals arena. This project uses fluids such as water, carbon dioxide, ethanol or propane at high pressure and temperature to quickly convert biomass into sugars, organic acids, hydrogen, methane, nonracemic chiral compounds and a host of other chemicals. The supercritical process is fast (reducing cellulose feedstocks to a liquid in 15 minutes compared to the anaerobic digestion process which can take days), versatile, and uses relatively compact equipment. Researchers are investigating it as a low cost biomass conversion option.