Liquid Biofuel Boilers

Wood Pellet BoilersWhat it is:

Liquid biofuels are derived from processed organic solids such as corn, soybeans, and vegetable oil. As these fuels become commercially available, boilers fueled by liquid biofuels will become available. A good resource on this topic is Bio Refining Magazine

Past, present, future:

Due to a lack of commercially available liquid biofuels, there are no commercially available liquid biofuel boilers that we're aware of. Some government entities are in discussions about mandating a small percentage of biofuel content in home heating oil. This is a more likely near-term outcome than 100% liquid biofuel boilers.

Advantages:

  • Liquid biofuels are a carbon neutral energy solution.
  • Their primary commercial applications will be in the transportation market where space and energy content per unit of volume are at an absolute premium.

Disadvantages:

  • Because of the added processing required, and the premium placed on liquids for transportation purposes, these fuels will be very expensive for the foreseeable future.
  • Production is most likely to be concentrated in the Midwest and plains states so transportation costs to the Northeast will be high.
  • As concentration of production is on farm land, the production of liquid biofuel is likely to push up the price of food.
  • The level of potential carbon saving decreases significantly compared with using solid biofuel heating due to lower conversion efficiency.

Ecological Impacts:

  • Carbon neutral.
  • Also likely to burn cleaner (e.g. no sulfur) than the most common alternative, oil.
  • Possible deleterious effects of fertilizers and insecticides used in production of feed stock.

Interested in learning about our solid biofuel (wood pellet) boiler? Click here to learn about the system and if it may be a good fit for you.