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Alternative energy
It will be some time before fossil fuels stop being our main energy source, but as energy demand rises along with the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, creative scientific solutions are required more urgently than ever. A wealth of activity is taking place to harness the power of nature - from sunlight to wind and from water to plant life. Each great idea, however, comes with technical obstacles. Shell Global Solutions is seeking the solutions, such as the development of second-generation biofuels, that will be a significant part of our business in the coming years.
Biofuels – Growing solutions
As the demand for mobility is rising fast and, in the long term, the supply of oil will wane, there is global interest in liquid biofuels. Depending on the “journey” taken by biofuels from growth through conversion to distribution, they also offer the potential to slow the rate of growth in the world’s level of carbon dioxide emissions.
Several issues are linked with today’s increasing production of conventional biofuels. It is a complex challenge. Clearly, social and environmental safeguards are needed as well as an agreed way of measuring each biofuel’s overall carbon dioxide production. Managing these issues is critical, and so Shell introduced a sustainable sourcing policy in 2007.
Today’s most widespread biofuel, ethanol, is commonly made from sugar cane, corn or wheat. The second most widespread type, fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), is often made from rapeseed, palm oil or soybeans. Shell is the world’s largest distributor of such biofuels and it continues to build its capacity.
If biofuel production is to scale up to meet the growing demand for transport fuel, non-food raw materials need to be developed. This means looking at new feedstocks, processes and fuels.
Shell is a leader in R&D for these next-generation biofuels. Shell Global Solutions has a bioresearch team across four centres (the USA, the UK, the Netherlands and India) currently exploring alternative conversion processes with the aim of narrowing down the technology to a feasible set of commercial solutions. Several partnerships, both academic and commercial, aim to accelerate this work.
The global programme includes collaborations with Iogen (fuel ethanol from wheat straw), CHOREN Industries (biomass to liquid fuels based on wood residue), Codexis (enzyme conversion) and Virent Energy Systems (biogasoline) as well as a joint venture with HR Biopetroleum, Cellana (development of marine algae for producing vegetable oil).
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