[RavenAvi]

The first batch of Audi "e-benzin", as Audi calls the synthetic gasoline produced in it's laboratories, has been successfully produced. With the assistance of Global Bioenergies, the Audi "e-benzin" has been produced without the use of petroleum.

This synthetic fuel also lacks sulfur and benzene which means it burns "very cleanly." More importantly, it is "100-percent iso-octane and therefore has an outstanding octane rating of RON 100." Which means, this newly-developed high grade fuel will allow engines to run at high compression ratios to churn out the maximum fuel efficiency.

Audi will begin testing the fuel shortly but hopes to eventually modify the production process so it only requires water, hydrogen, CO2 and sunlight to create Audi e-benzin. By 2016, large quantities of this synthetic gasoline might be produced by this collaboration.

In a statement, Audi's Head of Sustainable Product Development Reiner Mangold said “Global Bioenergies has demonstrated the viability of the Audi e-benzin production process. That is a big step in our Audi e-fuels strategy.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s7FuxtDZ8M

This huge development comes closely on the heels of Audi laying claim to have successfully produced synthetic diesel for future mass production.

SOURCE

[alpha1]

Synfuel is a very old process: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer...ropsch_process
The same was used by Germany during the WW2 by using CTL (coal to liquid) technology.

Today, I know Shell and Sasol is making GTL (Gas to liquid) using the similar process.

Even Audi will require Carbon (CO or CO2 - from hydrocarbons/wood/coal) and Hydrogen (from water) and Energy (sunlight). Using sunlight for energy looks to be the only interesting thing in Audi's claim.


Closer to home, our Jindal was also going to set up a plant (http://articles.economictimes.indiat...indal-synfuels) but shelved it due to the Coal allocation fiasco).


####

Woops, spoke too soon, so after perusing more it seems the crux is:

In late 2014, Global Bioenergies started up the fermentation unit for a pilot program to produce gaseous isobutane from renewable biomass sugars such as corn-derived glucose.

So they are using fermentation to change from biomass sugars to isobutane (LPG).
Good, this is something new! Since till now only ethanol production from biomass sugars was commercially viable.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Even Audi will require Carbon (CO or CO2 - from hydrocarbons/wood/coal) and Hydrogen (from water) and Energy (sunlight). Using sunlight for energy looks to be the only interesting thing in Audi's claim.

I'm no manufacturing or chemistry expert, but their process does not seem to be quite the same. It claims to use polluted air as input, and provide clean air as a byproduct.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Synfuel is a very old process:
The same was used by Germany during the WW2 by using CTL (coal to liquid) technology.

Even Audi will require Carbon (CO or CO2 - from hydrocarbons/wood/coal) and Hydrogen (from water) and Energy (sunlight). Using sunlight for energy looks to be the only interesting thing in Audi's claim.


So they are using fermentation to change from biomass sugars to isobutane (LPG).
Good, this is something new! Since till now only ethanol production from biomass sugars was commercially viable.

Good piece of information aplha1.
Process involving sunlight is most likely to be very slow, IMO.

Besides fermentation, there is one more biological process (culture based) to extract the methane from the pressmud (the residue in the filters, after filtering the sugarcane juice). This methabe is hence called bio CNG. This too is a slow process; the process parameters and dynamics are not yet fully understood AFAIK.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I'm no manufacturing or chemistry expert, but their process does not seem to be quite the same. It claims to use polluted air as input, and provide clean air as a byproduct.

What I typed at the first go in my post in anyway irrelevant since they are using fermentation of biomass (as quoted by the mentioned website).

But hey, your photo again brings the first part of my post to relevance!
If you read what is written under "Blue crude", it says: CO, H2 and H2O is created from CO2 and H2; syngas (consisting of CO and H2) reacts to form liquid energy carrier (blue crude) comparable with crude oil.

This is exactly what happens in a gas to liquid plant.


You know, I get a feeling that this is all hokum/sham for funding and marketing purpose. Some places they are talking about converting biomass to butane. Other places they are basically re-inventing the wheel by citing Gas to liquid technology.

The only thing different from normal GTL is that they are invoking the politically correct nuances of environment friendly terms like "ecological power generation" for hydrogen production (in GTL process this happens via steam reforming of carbon/hydrocarbon fuel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_reforming), and "direct air capturing" (not required in GTL, since you anyway get CO, CO2 from steam reforming).

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Process involving sunlight is most likely to be very slow, IMO.

Besides fermentation, there is one more biological process (culture based) to extract the methane from the pressmud (the residue in the filters, after filtering the sugarcane juice). This methabe is hence called bio CNG. This too is a slow process; the process parameters and dynamics are not yet fully understood AFAIK.

That's what even I suspect. The process will be very slow.
If I am not wrong, what you are talking about as bioCNG is nothing but the same ol' biogas (Gobar gas in India) but purified and compressed?