Nextfuels To Revive Shell Biofuels Demo

Renewable fuels firm NextFuels says it is raising funds to rebuild a demonstration plant in the Netherlands—originally created by Shell in 2005—that produces a type of crude oil from abundant palm oil waste. The plant would demonstrate a bioliquefaction technology that can accept wet biomass as a feedstock. Because the biomass does not need to be dried, energy requirements to make biofuels can be reduced by 70%, according to NextFuels. The Shell process heats biomass and water under pressure. When cooled, the resulting hydrocarbons can be refined into petroleum-like fuels.