Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2-Energy) technology is to produce hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals from biowaste (including those from animal, human and bioprocessing) and algae, and at the same time capture carbon, reuse nutrients and clean wastewater. Petroleum was formed from biomass buried underneath the ground and subjected to thermochemical conversion processes over geological time. Mimicking this natural process, we are focusing on technologies of hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass into crude oil and algal production using recycled nutrients in wastewater. A road map of the E2-Energy is shown in the following figure:

First, volatile organic solids in biowaste is separated and converted into biocrude oil via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL); Second, algae is grown in the resulting wastewaters to remove excess nutrients and capture carbon dioxide; Finally, the algae is fed back to the HTL reactor, as a sole feedstock or as an additive, to be converted into additional biocrude oil. This synergistic process is extremely advantageous because it brings two rivals - "Energy Production" and "Environment Protection" - together to complement rather than compete. It simultaneously improves water quality, captures carbon dioxide and increases biofuel yield. More…

HTL technology

The hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology employs elevated temperature and pressure to convert a wide range of organic compounds into a blend of hydrocarbons, which can be initially used as asphalt cements and boiler fuels and eventually be upgraded to transportation fuels More…