Alternative fuels, FHNW School of Engineering and Environment

Fossil fuels generate climate-damaging emissions when used in vehicles or combustion systems. Alternative fuels and energy carriers derived from biomass and waste promise climate neutrality and a significant reduction of environmentally relevant emissions.

Catalytic Processes for the Production of Alternative Fuels

• Production of methane from non-digestible biomass via hydrothermal gasification

• Production of liquid fuels and valuable chemicals from organic waste, lignin, and residual wood that do not compete with food production

• Oxidation of organic waste in supercritical water (Supercritical Water Oxidation, SCWO)

Competencies

• Modeling of dynamic and steady-state process engineering systems with chemical reactions, heat transfer, and mass transfer

• Identification of organic substances in complex mixtures using high-resolution mass spectrometry

• Testing and characterization of catalysts for bioenergy processes, including aging behavior

• Investigation of chemical processes under hydrothermal conditions (up to 600 °C, 400 bar)

• Chemical analyses (elements, individual substances, and bulk parameters) in solid, liquid, and gaseous samples