Abstract
The thermochemical conversion of conventional and alternative biofuels is capable of supplying a wide range of energy vectors and chemicals. Peculiarities of such materials require a comprehensive and detailed characterization to provide the fundamental information and face with the issues of each process step. Innovative technologies, advanced model approaches, optimization procedures, need data which comply with relevant standards. The characterization tools described in this work range from lab-scale tools, used to provide the fuel fingerprint, to pilot scale facilities, which operate under industrial scale conditions. Protocols and procedures have been elaborated for all activities to provide reliable and qualified parameters for practical applications and comprehensive codes. The experimental activities have been supported with a broad set of on-line and off-line measurements and analyses, and coupled with modelling activities to qualify the experiments. Finally, a biofuel database, reporting the data collected in the last years, has been developed.
