Institute for Advanced Study Astrophysics Seminar

Climate change is here and may become catastrophic before the end of the century if we do not transition away from the burning fossil fuels as the primary source of our energy. In this talk we focus on the work of our research team in the thermal-chemical manufacture of high-throughput biochar, biodiesel, and syngas from renewable biomass processed by supertorrefaction with benign molten salts that remain liquids at atmospheric pressure and many hundreds of degrees Celsius. The proposed technology takes advantage of the extensive infrastructure and distribution system established for fossil fuels. If the biochar is buried as a soil amendment to repair lands damaged by past unsustainable practices, the entire process can be carbon negative. Carbon capture and sequestration technology makes even burning it as a fuel carbon negative. Its employment on feedstock residues can also improve the carbon footprint of biofuel processes that do not make use of the whole plant. Thus, biochar production by supertorrefaction can rollback the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to below the levels that are on course to melt the polar ice caps completely. We have built a tabletop model that shows automation of the process of supertorrefaction is possible, and we are now planning a demonstration plant in Taiwan to prove that supertorrefaction can produce energy products cheaper than mined coal, petroleum, or natural gas. We are looking for academic and industrial partners that can help us with this overall mission, and we charge the students in college today with the task of leading civilization to a brighter achievable vision for its long-term future.