Origin of Asphalts, Oil, Natural Gas and Bituminous Coal

Thermochemical biofuel production in hydrothermal media: A review of sub- and supercritical water technologies

“…In fact, Berl 140 suggested in 1944 that ''cornstalks, corn cobs, sugar cane, bagasse, seaweed, algae, sawdust, Irish moss, molasses, sorghum, [and] grass'' could be turned into a petroleum-like product, which he reported contained 60% of the starting material's carbon and 75% of the starting material's heating value. Berl used an alkaline solution of biomass in water at approximately 230 C. 141 Scattered research has continued since Berl's time on the topic. The processes all produce a sort of viscous crude oil replacement, which has an important key difference from conventional crude oil: the oxygen content of the fuel is significantly higher, typically 10-20% in the ''bio-crudes'' versus < 1% 142 in conventional petroleum.…”

Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles: A Reaction Temperature Study

“…7 In the following decades, the finding achieved little attention because of the favorable availability and cost of fossil fuels. In the wake of the oil crises of the 1970s, Shell Research Laboratories in 1982 developed a process known as hydrothermal upgrading or the HTU process.…”

Hydrothermal liquefaction of laboratory cultivated and commercial algal biomass into crude bio‐oil

“…More specifically, HTL is a process to convert biomass into a crude bio‐oil (bio‐crude) containing monomeric to oligomeric compounds, which mimics the natural geological process of fossil fuels production, and is also called hydrous pyrolysis . Research on HTL dates back to the 1930s when Berl produced a bio‐crude from plant materials under higher pressure and temperature . However, the process was limited by the relative low cost of petroleum.…”