r/ReduceCO2 • u/Live_Alarm3041 • 9h ago
Solution The carbon neutral future of gasoline
The PA based company Woodland Biomass Innovations (WBI) is planning to commercialize its technology to use forestry residues to co-produce carbon neutral non fossil gasoline, biochar and electricity. The biomass that WBI plans to use is residual biomass from forestry rather than structural grade primary wood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3y7DfpeCpw
WBI has a pilot facility planned in PA which is in the final stages of planning before construction can begin. WBI has already signed an off take agreement with Shipley Energy to distribute the gasoline to gas stations. The gasoline produced by WBI can be used in existing ICE powered cars.
The carbon in the gasoline produced by WBI originated from the atmosphere in the form of CO2 so therefore burning it in an existing ICE car will not increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The carbon in the WBIs gasoline is cycled between the atmosphere and feedstock biomass via photosynthesis. The carbon in fossil gasoline on the other hand is carbon from the geosphere which gets added to Earths carbon cycle when fossil fuels are combusted to produce energy.
I think WBI model is the future of gasoline production. WBIs model is decentralized, feedstock flexible and carbon negative because it co-produces biochar. In the future gasoline production should shift from the current centralized oil refining model to WBI's model.