Alternative Energy

Total believes that wider-scale development of biomass hinges on four conditions. First, it must not compete directly with food. Second, it must deliver a real gain in terms of greenhouse gas emissions avoided from field to wheel. Third, farming and operational practices must accord with our ethical principles. Lastly, it must provide a reasonable return on investment.

To meet these conditions, we have broadened our R&D to include processes that utilize the non-edible parts of plants as well. Unlike first-generation processes, which use only the easy-to-harness energy molecules of stored sugar and vegetable oils, so-called second-generation processes aims to convert plant sugars, specifically cellulose and hemicellulose, which together with lignin make up the lignocellulose fraction of plants. These complex sugars found in stems, straw and wood are much harder to “break down” and more complicated to convert to energy. R&D will therefore be decisive in knocking down the technological barriers that prevent us from efficiently and sustainably converting whole plants into energy.

Downstream of lignocellulose breakdown, we are exploring several groups of related processes to convert biomass or energy-storing molecules derived from biomass, such as sugars and lipids. Depending on how mature the technologies involved are, our efforts range from exploratory research to conducting trials to improving processes in which we are already proficient.

Oleochemical processes such as hydrotreating vegetable oils and animal fat can produce biodiesel that is as good as or better than conventional diesel derived from fossil fuels.

Thermochemical processes, with conversion to syngas as an intermediate step, can also be used for natural gas and coal.

Lastly, biochemical processes exploit the chemistry of living matter, using enzymes and dedicated microorganisms, to efficient performing complex conversions that might otherwise not be possible using traditional chemistry.

First-generation biofuels, ethanol and FAME, are themselves the product of thermochemical or biochemical processes. What our R&D aims to do is to devise more efficient options with better energy performance and develop new methods leading to products with a higher value added than first-generation biofuels. Today, new options are likely to yield a wide variety of products, including basic molecules for chemicals, electricity, other energy carriers such as methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), hydrogen and high-carbon alcohols, and even hydrocarbons directly.

To identify the key success factors in these new businesses, which are still burdened by a number of uncertainties, we have also forged partnerships with firms specializing in bioenergies and are taking part in various French, European Union and international programs in this area. Working with the French National Research Agency (ANR), we have undertaken a comparative analysis of some 20 resources and conversion technologies. Together with Axens, Diester and Renault, we support the Enerbio fund to finance advanced biofuel projects.

As part of our stepped-up efforts in applied research, Total operates or helps launch initial pre-commercial pilot units.

Today, some technology specialists lump the various thermochemical conversion options under the moniker ‘‘X to Y,” to capture both the diversity of raw materials and of their potential markets.

Studying, selecting and optimizing the most relevant options

In the area of thermochemical processes, Total is leading or participating in several programs that draw on the competencies of our businesses, including Refining & Marketing, Gas & Power, Chemicals and, when it comes to carbon capture and storage, Exploration & Production, and on our Scientific Development Department’s experts. Goals include identifying the best resources and associated conversion techniques and optimizing overall performance in order to proceed to the commercial development stage.

In 2008, we also joined a European consortium that is testing bio-DME fuel production from spent liquor, a pulp residue, in Sweden.

Total is a partner of the Futurol project to demonstrate biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass via a biological process comprising enzymatic hydrolysis followed by fermentation of the resulting alcohol. The eight-year program will develop cellulose extraction techniques, select enzymes and yeasts, and develop the processes best suited to a variety of plant-based raw materials, while addressing sustainable development concerns throughout. The ultimate goal is to produce competitively priced second-generation bioethanol, with the best possible energy efficiency and carbon emission performance across the chain.

Again in order to secure the future of energy and find workable alternatives to oil, Total is investing in research even farther upstream of our industrial operations. For example, we are building up our expertise in the field of biotechnologies and setting up genuine collaborative R&D projects with academic research laboratories. The goals are to understand and then knock down the biotechnological barriers limiting the effectiveness and thus feasibility of so many processes. With that in mind, a joint program involving Total and researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Marseille and the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) engineering school in Toulouse aims to construct an alcohol-producing microorganism that can break down lignocellulose directly. Developing such an organism would enable us to reduce the number of steps involved in producing biomolecules from biomass, lowering both energy use and production costs.