Biomass resources (e.g., wood, grasses, agricultural residues, and municipal wastes) can contribute significantly to US fuel and electrical power requirements. One possible pathway to use biomass is thermochemical conversion. This process uses heat — with or without a catalyst — to convert organic materials into transportation fuels and other co-products.
Thermochemical processing employs unit operations (e.g., gasifiers, reformers, catalytic reactors) that can be used to convert coal or natural gas to liquid transportation fuels; therefore, it capitalizes on existing knowledge and equipment.
This article describes the three main pathways of thermochemical processing that are used to produce fuels. These include: combustion, indirect liquefaction, and direct liquefaction. It also explores the economics of the thermochemical platform, as well as the advantages and disadvantages to this method compared to the other platforms