Liquid Fuels, Biofuels and Bioproducts Group (LFBBG) at the Department of Fuel Technology focuses primarily on research aimed at developing technologies for producing next-generation biofuels and chemicals. Currently, the team’s activities are primarily centered on the sustainable and efficient production of bio-components for hydrocarbon fuels and as standalone fuels, combined with a comprehensive analysis of their composition, physicochemical, and functional properties. These components are derived from waste sources, such as the food industry (e.g., fruit pomace), the paper and cellulose industries, the production of first-generation bio-components (e.g., lignin), gastronomy waste (e.g., coffee waste), and microalgae. Achieving these objectives is based particularly on exploring the following research areas:

• Thermochemical conversion processes of biomass,including pyrolysis and thermochemical liquefaction in near-critical conditions of water and organic solvents, focusing on:
  • investigating the influence of process variables on conversion efficiency,
  • developing efficient methods for the separation and recovery of bioproducts,
  • elucidating the mechanisms of thermochemical decomposition of various types of organic matter;
• Upgrading biofuels and bio-components through catalytic hydrotreatment, including:
  • synthesizing new, more active catalysts for the hydrorefining of bio-oils,
  • testing the activity of new bio-oil hydrorefining catalysts under realistic process conditions,
  • synthesizing carbon replicas and porous silicas as adsorbents for volatile organic compounds and as catalyst carriers, e.g., for biodiesel production,
  • hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) processes of vegetable oils – model reactions,
  • model reactions of hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) processes;
• Mechanisms of oxidation in biofuels and conventional liquid fuel components;
• Possibilities of blending higher-generation alternative fuels with conventional fuels;
• Developing and verifying multi-stage processes for the effective management of industrial waste and bioproducts obtained through thermochemical conversion methods – aligned with the concept of biorefineries based on platform chemicals (lignin, polyols).