Dr. Thomas A. Butcher
Dr. Thomas A. Butcher is a Research Engineer and Leader of the Energy Conversion Group at Brookhaven National Laboratory. With 30 years of experience in energy research Dr. Butcher has been involved with a wide range of areas including building energy efficiency, advanced energy conversion systems, biofuel production and use, air pollutant emission issues in energy use, gas, oil, and coal combustion, and materials development. Tom received his B.S. degree in Marine Engineering at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute, and his Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Biofuels from Regional Waste Sources
The Northeast U.S. produces very large amounts of organic rich waste which represents a significant biomass resource. This work has been focused on the manufacture of liquid fuels that can replace middle distillates from waste oil and grease produced in the New York region. Three separate routes to the production of fuels have been explored. Each of these starts with a thermal conversion process in which water, temperature, and pressure is used to convert all mono-, di-, and triglycerides to fatty acids. The first downstream route studied is the conversion to esters (biodiesel) through acid esterification. A two-stage conversion (esterification), followed by a polishing step, has been shown to produce a fuel product which can meet required ASTM standards. The second downstream route is conversion to hydrocarbons via decarboxylation. This is a much higher pressure and temperature route but offers the potential for the production of truly infrastructure-compatible fuels. In general, results for this route have not been encouraging for the development of a commercially practical process. The third route involves direct combustion of the fatty acids as a fuel for stationary applications such as boilers and furnaces. In tests of basic combustion performance, emissions, and material compatibility, this fuel has been found to be a promising commercial product. An economic comparison of these alternatives, including plant design estimation, capital and operating cost estimates, and product value is underway.