UOP gets funding for biomass oil project

Des Plaines, Ill.-based UOP, a subsidiary of New Jersey's Honeywell International (NYSE: HON), announced today that it received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop biofeedstock technology.

UOP, which is working with five partners on the project, said the $1.5 million in funding will be used to develop technology to improve the stability of pyrolysis oil from second-generation biomass feedstocks.

"The development of second-generation biofeedstock conversion technology is critical for biofuels to support our growing energy needs," said Jennifer Holmgren, general manager for UOP's Renewable Energy and Chemicals business.

"Finding a cost-effective solution will ensure that pyrolysis oil is a viable renewable source for power and transportation fuels."

UOP said biomass pyrolysis oil can be made from second-generation feedstocks like the residuals from the agricultural and forestry industries or wood-based construction and demolition materials. The oil can be combusted in industrial burners and furnaces or further refined into transportation fuels, but the company said the oil is corrosive and unstable, making it difficult to store and transport.

UOP will work on the project with Wilmington, Del.'s Ensyn, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, East Hills, N.Y.-based Pall (NYSE: PLL), and the Crop Conversion Science and Engineering Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service. The project is expected to be complet by the end of 2010.

Last month, UOP signed a deal with Ensyn to offer technology and equipment for the biomass to bio-oil industry (see Honeywell, Ensyn in biomass venture).

The venture will offer Ensyn's Rapid Thermal Processing technology, which converts second generation biomass, like forest and agricultural wastes, to bio-oil, also known as pyrolysis oil, for use in power and heating applications.