Biofuels

NMR provides automated high-throughput bulk property analysis of crops used in Biofuels production, leaving specimens intact. Measurements are performed without direct exposure to the sample and with minimal sample preparation.

The utilization of TD-NMR for biofuels includes a full range of application solutions such as research and development efforts, quality assurance testing, on-line continuous process optimization and continuous real-time quality control. In fact, NMR permits the determination of the Iodine content, Cetane number and the control of the transterification process online. By means of NMR it is also possible to determine the viscosity of the fluid, making it an ideal tool for not only quality but also process control.

The NMR tests results demonstrate the flexibility, accuracy and reliability required for the analytical challenges faced in the biofuels industry. Continued efforts toward application development, process scale-up and commercialization will result in more widespread use of TD-NMR as an international standard for the biofuels industry. In recent years the trend of NMR instrumentation has continued to move from lab-based analysis towards process control and process optimization. As biofuels production facilities scale up from pilot plant stage to commercial plant scale, periodic lab based analysis no longer meets the challenges of full-scale plant. Only on-line NMR instrumentation with real-time process feedback of key properties can satisfy the need for commercial production facilities.