pipelines

- August 14, 2014, Waste Management World

[The latest bad idea coming out of the polluting bioenergy industry.]

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"301","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"395","style":"width: 333px; height: 274px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"480"}}]]A scientist at the University of Alberta, Canada is research to determine whether it’s effective to use pipelines to transport agricultural waste used in biofuels.

According to the university, Mahdi Vaezi, a PhD student in the Faculty of Engineering, is looking at agricultural wastes such as straw and corn stover which are used as feedstock for bio-based energy facilities.

Vaezi’s lab is claimed to be the only one in the world conducting this kind of research on biomass slurries.

The university explained that biomass material derived from food and non-food organisms has traditionally been transported by truck, at great expense. However, when done at a large scale, transporting biomass materials by slurry pipeline could help make the cost of biorefineries competitive.