Supercritical Fluids as a Tool for Green Energy and Chemicals

Abstract

Hydrothermal conversion of biomass is a promising technology for the conversion of biomass into biofuels and biobased chemicals. This chapter is focused on the waste biomass conversion for production of biofuels and chemicals by applying sub- and supercritical fluids. One of the biggest disadvantages in biomass conversion by SCF is the extremely high energy requirement for heating the media above the water critical point (374 °C, 221 bar). The idea behind the recent research is to reduce the operating temperature and energy requirements by processing biomass with water at much higher pressures. The importance of knowledge on behavior of multicomponent systems at elevated pressures and temperatures is underlined. Methods, developed by the authors of this chapter for determination of thermodynamic and transport properties for multicomponent systems of different solid compounds and supercritical fluid under extreme conditions, are described. A future perspective of hydrothermal technology as a tool to obtain advanced materials and the possible scope for future research is also discussed.