To meet the energy challenges of the future, Total is focusing on two priorities: promoting energy efficiency and diversifying energy supply, with an emphasis on optimized fossil fuel management and developing renewable and alternative energies. Against this backdrop, using biomass to supplement fossil fuel resources is a promising, perhaps even inevitable, option, even though its contribution is still limited.

We want to expand the use of renewable carbon in our products and production operations. Given the myriad options for using biomass, we are not trying to identify the best generic process or technology, but rather to select the most appropriate options, in synergy with our activities and the local environment. We work in partnership with the stakeholders concerned, such as resource producers, technology providers and academic researchers.

Our accomplishments

Total began offering first-generation biofuels in 1992. We are Europe’s leading marketer of biofuels, blending some 1.6 million metric tons in the products we sell. These biofuels fall into two major categories. The first, bioethanol, can be blended directly in gasoline or in the form of ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE). 

ETBE unit at the Normandy refinery.

In 2007, we introduced Ecolium 30, which consists of 70% premium diesel and 30% methyl ester. Intended for professional fleets, it reduces CO2 emissions by 15%.

Looking ahead

These first-generation fuels are receiving mixed reviews: they are expensive to produce and derived from crops that compete with other land use, especially food crops. To overcome these drawbacks, we are pursuing research on second-generation biofuels to augment currently available solutions by expanding the range of bioresource, as well as improving the overall environmental balance.

We have identified various processes and technologies that could offer synergies with our operations and are conducting R&D, usually with partners, to confirm their potential and develop them.

Four technologies are being explored:

• Hydrotreating of vegetable oil and animal fat to produce a high-performance biodiesel.
• Gasifying biomass, with synthesis of biohydrocarbons; products include Fischer Tropsch diesel, methanol and dimethyl ether (DME). 
• Producing biocrude or bio-oil through anaerobic thermal degradation, such as pyrolysis, followed by refining into automotive fuels and energy products.
• Producing cellulosic ethanol through biological treatment, enabling ethanol to be derived from the non-food component of plants.

We are working with partners on various innovative bioenergy and biofuel processes technologies, focusing in particular on:

• Assessing new automotive fuel bases derived from renewable sources and formulating fuels that incorporate ever-higher percentages of biofuels.
• Assessing the potential and prerequisites for using bioresource, such as energy crops, co-products and agricultural, forest and industrial residue.
• Assessing the technical, economic and industrial feasibility of biomass gasification processes (Biomass To Liquids - BTL) through various partnerships, especially in Germany (see inset below).
• Producing and upgrading biocrude (pyrolysis).
• Producing and upgrading alcohol (biological process).

	BTL and biomass gasification Viewed as a possible technology to manufacture second-generation biofuels, the Biomass to Liquids (BTL) process consists of gasifying biomass to produce a synthesis gas that is purified, treated and further converted to yield an automotive fuel. This involves a complex sequence of steps and technologies, along with substantial investment and huge amounts of raw materials.. A biomass gasification unit could conceivably be integrated into a refinery, which could help reduce capital and operating costs, and pave the way for a future crude oil and biomass biorefinery.

A strong believer in more R&D programs involving everyone with a stake in these new processes, Total participates in various initiatives to fund, support and direct bioenergy research. These include:

• Enerbio, a French fund created in June 2006 for exploratory research and forecasting research on new biomass applications, in partnership with Axens, Renault and Sofiprotéol.
• The European Biofuels Technology Platform, initiated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research.
• France’s National Bioenergy Research Program (PNRB), run by the French National Research Agency (ANR).