Biofuel Production - Is Membrane Technology the Answer?

Biofuel production with the help of membrane filtration technology is not entirely new technology as some think it is. In fact we are talking here about tried and proved industrial method that has been utilized in many industrial facilities, and after many positive experiences has been now implemented in biofuels production.

Many energy experts expect that with the help of membrane filtration technology "second-generation" cellulosic ethanol production could be significantly improved, especially in terms of fuel recovery as well as getting as much as possible secondary products from the used feedstock. To put things as simply as possible this new technology should mostly help improve the efficiency of biofuel production by offering lower overall energy costs.

The things you need to know about the membranes used in this process is that they are highly engineered, and they are designed to allow the passage of materials only up to a certain size and shape. As said above the process of membrane filtration has been used extensively in several different industry facilities for many years. The best examples to mention here would be sugar, food, wine, and similar other enzyme manufacturing sectors.

But let us get back to biofuel production. Membrane filtration technology is becoming very important in production of biodiesel, where membranes are used to facilitate water reuse, this is especially helpful in areas where water is scarce..

Energy experts expect that within this decade we will see lot more biofuel facilities that will use this process for biofuel production. This should also increase the popularity of biodiesel and other biofuels on global level.

Ned Hall has so far written many interesting articles about biofuels, as well as many other interesting renewable energy articles

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