Biofuels Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Biofuels and Biomass

Defines biomass feedstock categories and the concept of biogenic carbon. Anchors all subsequent feedstock and conversion discussions in precise terminology.

Lesson 2 • Global Energy Context and Policy Drivers

Examines energy security, climate targets, and blending mandates as policy levers. Connects scientific potential of biofuels to real-world deployment incentives.

Lesson 3 • Energy Basics and Fossil Fuel Limits

Covers energy units, combustion principles, and fossil fuel depletion drivers. Provides the thermodynamic baseline needed to evaluate biofuel performance.

Lesson 1 • Sustainability Criteria and Certification

Introduces land-use change, water footprint, and biodiversity indicators for feedstock assessment. Students apply recognized sustainability frameworks to rank feedstock options.

Lesson 2 • Feedstock Supply Chain Logistics

Covers harvesting, storage, densification, and transport of biomass to conversion facilities. Quantifies logistical cost drivers that affect overall biofuel economics.

Lesson 3 • Algae and Aquatic Biomass

Profiles microalgae and macroalgae for lipid, carbohydrate, and biogas production. Connects high areal productivity to land-use advantage over terrestrial crops.

Lesson 4 • Lignocellulosic and Waste Feedstocks

Examines agricultural residues, forestry waste, and municipal solid waste as non-food feedstocks. Highlights recalcitrance challenges that drive pretreatment technology choices.

Lesson 1 • Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose

Details cellulase and hemicellulase enzyme systems that convert polysaccharides to fermentable sugars. Connects enzyme loading, inhibition, and recycling to process economics.

Lesson 2 • Product Recovery and Purification

Covers distillation, membrane separation, and dehydration for ethanol and biogas cleanup. Quantifies energy penalties of purification steps within the overall process balance.

Lesson 3 • Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Explains physical, chemical, and biological pretreatment methods that disrupt lignin and expose cellulose. Establishes the link between pretreatment severity and downstream enzyme efficiency.

Lesson 4 • Anaerobic Digestion for Biogas

Explains hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis stages of anaerobic digestion. Links reactor design and feedstock composition to methane yield.

Lesson 1 • Hydrothermal Liquefaction and HTL Upgrading

Covers subcritical water conditions that convert wet biomass to biocrude without drying. Links HTL biocrude properties to refinery co-processing compatibility.

Lesson 2 • Syngas Cleaning and Conditioning

Details tar removal, particulate filtration, and water-gas shift for syngas upgrading. Connects gas quality specifications to downstream synthesis catalyst requirements.

Lesson 3 • Pyrolysis and Bio-oil Production

Explains slow, fast, and flash pyrolysis conditions and their effect on bio-oil, char, and gas yields. Students evaluate bio-oil upgrading pathways for transportation fuel use.

Lesson 4 • Direct Combustion and Co-firing

Examines biomass combustion thermodynamics, boiler types, and co-firing with coal. Establishes efficiency and emission benchmarks for comparison with other thermochemical routes.

Lesson 1 • Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids

Explains hydrodeoxygenation and isomerization of vegetable oils to produce drop-in renewable diesel. Compares HEFA fuel properties to petroleum diesel and biodiesel.

Lesson 2 • Transesterification Chemistry and Catalysis

Explains acid, base, and enzymatic catalysis for converting triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters. Students predict conversion efficiency from feedstock free fatty acid content.

Lesson 3 • Biodiesel Separation and Purification

Details glycerol separation, water washing, and dry washing for biodiesel polishing. Students apply fuel quality standards to evaluate purification process adequacy.

Lesson 4 • Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis for Biofuels

Covers cobalt and iron catalyst systems, product distribution, and wax hydrocracking in FT synthesis. Students calculate carbon efficiency from syngas to liquid fuel.

Lesson 1 • Energy Balance and Net Energy Ratio

Quantifies fossil energy inputs across the supply chain to derive net energy ratio and energy return on investment. Links energy balance results to policy eligibility thresholds.

Lesson 2 • Inventory Analysis for Biofuel Systems

Covers data collection for agricultural inputs, conversion energy, and transport emissions. Students build a life cycle inventory table for a selected biofuel pathway.

Lesson 3 • Land-Use Change Emissions Modeling

Explains direct and indirect land-use change carbon debt and amortization methods. Students incorporate LUC emissions into total GHG intensity calculations.

Lesson 4 • LCA Methodology Fundamentals

Introduces goal and scope definition, functional unit selection, and system boundary setting for biofuel LCA. Establishes ISO-aligned procedural steps used throughout the chapter.

Lesson 1 • Techno-Economic Analysis Framework

Introduces capital cost estimation, operating cost breakdown, and minimum fuel selling price calculation. Provides the analytical structure applied in all subsequent economic sections.

Lesson 2 • Project Finance and Investment Structures

Explains debt-equity ratios, project finance structures, and risk allocation mechanisms for biofuel plants. Students assess bankability criteria and identify suitable financing instruments.

Lesson 3 • Revenue Streams and Co-product Credits

Identifies electricity, heat, glycerol, and carbon credit revenues that improve project economics. Students integrate co-product values into the minimum fuel selling price model.

Lesson 4 • Feedstock Cost and Price Volatility

Analyzes feedstock procurement strategies, price indices, and hedging instruments for cost management. Students model feedstock cost impact on overall production economics.

Lesson 1 • Sustainable Aviation Fuel Pathways

Profiles HEFA, ATJ, FT, and co-processing routes certified for aviation blending. Students evaluate each pathway against carbon intensity and production cost targets.

Lesson 2 • Consolidated Bioprocessing and Synthetic Biology

Covers engineered microorganisms that combine enzyme production, hydrolysis, and fermentation in one step. Students assess metabolic engineering strategies for improving titer and yield.

Lesson 3 • Integrated Biorefinery Concepts

Designs multi-product biorefineries that co-produce fuels, chemicals, and materials from a single feedstock. Students optimize product portfolios to maximize value and minimize waste.

Lesson 4 • Electrofuels and Power-to-X Pathways

Explains CO2 electrolysis, microbial electrosynthesis, and hydrogen-based fuel synthesis routes. Connects renewable electricity availability to electrofuel production cost.