Welcome to the website of SPT!

SPT is a relatively young research and education group on biomass as an energy source.

Our research mission is:

Creating and perfecting new thermo-chemical routes for the production of biomass derived solid, gaseous and liquid fuels for renewable and sustainable energy.

Providing renewable and sustainable energy is one of the most important challenges of mankind. With biomass solar energy is captured using atmospheric CO₂ as a carbon source which after utilization of the biomass and its derived fuels is recycled again to the atmosphere. In this way, in contrast to the used of fossil fuels, no additional CO₂ is brought into the biosphere.

Biomass fuels, once produced, easily fit in the present infrastructure for energy production including the transport sector. If production and conversion routes of biomass are carefully selected, specially ligno cellulosic biomass can be a large size sustainable energy source, not competing with the food and feed chains.

Both biological and thermo-chemical conversion routes are possible for biomass but our group, because of its expertise, concentrates on thermo-chemical routes. This research neatly fits into the sustainable process technology spearhead of the GEI institute which provides a platform for collaboration with other research groups within this institute: Catalysis (CPM) and Thermal Engineering (TCPE).

History and present