Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Corn stalks, food waster or forest trimmings to fuel your vehicle?! Non-food biomass is one of the most promising renewable energy resource for transportation. Using a biomass transportation fuel reduces the demand for petroleum products and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Energy derived from non-food biomass is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels because it can be produced from renewable resources that are continuously replenished. Steeper Energy Canada (Steeper) has developed a proprietary hydrothermal liquefaction: HydrofactionTM. This process revolutionizes the thermochemical conversion of non-food biomass for transport fuels. By emulating the pressure and temperature conditions that lead to the conversion of marine biota into petroleum, Steeper efficiently converts forestry residues, agro-wastes and urban wastes into high value transport fuels. Steeper is seeking to collaborate with SAIT Environmental Technologies (ET) to determine the physicochemical properties of raw biocrude oils samples by using a demineralization and dewatering pathway. This applied research project will produce a sample product and explore the potential recovery and recirculation of solvents within the process. The product will be evaluated for larger scale production and costs. The biomass industry is booming. There are many companies competing to develop and market advanced biofuels made from non-food feedstocks. Biofuels are a widely available source of clean renewable transportation energy. The biofuels and consumer products made from biomass create economic opportunities, increase energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.