Norway begins work on biodiesel

Collaboration on biodiesel production has been announced by Norwegian fuel supplier Xynergo and the energy processes department of Norwegian research organisation SINTEF.

The department addresses a range of disciplines, from natural gas consumption to CO2 production, with biodiesel generated from wood shavings its latest research target.

Chief scientist Lars Sorum explains that two main methods of developing green fuels from wood already exist - but that they differ in terms of complexity and in the ways the materials used must be pretreated.

"The project will enable us to perform technoeconomic studies of both solutions," he says.

Meanwhile, Xynergo's technical director Gjermund Rokke adds that the embarkation of the four-year research project represents "an important step on the way" for the firm in its move towards creating biofuels through wood gasification.

He adds that, although gasification is a key element in biofuel generation, it has not yet been made commercially available as a technology scaled up to mass production levels.