Christopher Kinchin

Production of Gasoline and Diesel from Biomass via Fast Pyrolysis, Hydrotreating and Hydrocracking: A Design Case

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a processing pathway for converting biomass into infrastructure-compatible hydrocarbon biofuels. This design case investigates production of fast pyrolysis oil from biomass and the upgrading of that bio-oil as a means for generating infrastructure-ready renewable gasoline and diesel fuels. This study has been conducted using the same methodology and underlying basis assumptions as the previous design cases for ethanol. The overall concept and specific processing steps were selected because significant data on this approach exists in the public literature. The analysis evaluates technology that has been demonstrated at the laboratory scale or is in early stages of commercialization. The fast pyrolysis of biomass is already at an early stage of commercialization, while upgrading bio-oil to transportation fuels has only been demonstrated in the laboratory and at small engineering development scale. Advanced methods of pyrolysis, which are under development, are not evaluated in this study. These may be the subject of subsequent analysis by OBP. The plant is designed to use 2000 dry metric tons/day of hybrid poplar wood chips to produce 76 million gallons/year of gasoline and diesel. The processing steps include: 1.Feed drying and size reduction 2.Fast pyrolysis to a highly oxygenated liquid product 3.Hydrotreating of the fast pyrolysis oil to a stable hydrocarbon oil with less than 2% oxygen 4.Hydrocracking of the heavy portion of the stable hydrocarbon oil 5.Distillation of the hydrotreated and hydrocracked oil into gasoline and diesel fuel blendstocks 6. Hydrogen production to support the hydrotreater reactors. The “as received” feedstock to the pyrolysis plant will be “reactor ready.” This development will likely further decrease the cost of producing the fuel. An important sensitivity is the possibility of co-locating the plant with an existing refinery. In this case, the plant consists only of the first three steps: feed prep, fast pyrolysis, and upgrading. Stabilized, upgraded pyrolysis oil is transferred to the refinery for separation and finishing into motor fuels. The off-gas from the hydrotreaters is also transferred to the refinery, and in return the refinery provides lower-cost hydrogen for the hydrotreaters. This reduces the capital investment. Production costs near

Process Design and Economics for the Conversion of Algal Biomass to Hydrocarbons: Whole Algae Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Upgrading

2/gal (in 2007 dollars) and petroleum industry infrastructure-ready products make the production and upgrading of pyrolysis oil to hydrocarbon fuels an economically attractive source of renewable fuels. The study also identifies technical areas where additional research can potentially lead to further cost improvements.

Integrated Evaluation of Cost, Emissions, and Resource Potential for Algal Biofuels at the National Scale

This report provides a preliminary analysis of the costs associated with converting whole wet algal biomass into primarily diesel fuel. Hydrothermal liquefaction converts the whole algae into an oil that is then hydrotreated and distilled. The secondary aqueous product containing significant organic material is converted to a medium btu gas via catalytic hydrothermal gasification.

Chemicals from Biomass: A Market Assessment of Bioproducts with Near-Term Potential

Costs, emissions, and resource availability were modeled for the production of 5 billion gallons yr(-1) (5 BGY) of renewable diesel in the United States from Chlorella biomass by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). The HTL model utilized data from a continuous 1-L reactor including catalytic hydrothermal gasification of the aqueous phase, and catalytic hydrotreatment of the HTL oil. A biophysical algae growth model coupled with weather and pond simulations predicted biomass productivity from experimental growth parameters, allowing site-by-site and temporal prediction of biomass production. The 5 BGY scale required geographically and climatically distributed sites. Even though screening down to 5 BGY significantly reduced spatial and temporal variability, site-to-site, season-to-season, and interannual variations in productivity affected economic and environmental performance. Performance metrics based on annual average or peak productivity were inadequate; temporally and spatially explicit computations allowed more rigorous analysis of these dynamic systems. For example, 3-season operation with a winter shutdown was favored to avoid high greenhouse gas emissions, but economic performance was harmed by underutilized equipment during slow-growth periods. Thus, analysis of algal biofuel pathways must combine spatiotemporal resource assessment, economic analysis, and environmental analysis integrated over many sites when assessing national scale performance.

Leveling Intermittent Renewable Energy Production Through Biomass Gasification-Based Hybrid Systems

Production of chemicals from biomass offers a promising opportunity to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, as well as to improve the overall economics and sustainability of an integrated biorefinery. Given the increasing momentum toward the deployment and scale-up of bioproducts, this report strives to: (1) summarize near-term potential opportunities for growth in biomass-derived products; (2) identify the production leaders who are actively scaling up these chemical production routes; (3) review the consumers and market champions who are supporting these efforts; (4) understand the key drivers and challenges to move biomass-derived chemicals to market; and (5) evaluate the impact that scale-up of chemical strategies will have on accelerating the production of biofuels.

Process Design and Economics for the Production of Algal Biomass: Algal Biomass Production in Open Pond Systems and Processing Through Dewatering for Downstream Conversion

The increased use of intermittent renewable power in the United States is forcing utilities to manage increasingly complex supply and demand interactions. This paper evaluates biomass pathways for hydrogen production and how they can be integrated with renewable resources to improve the efficiency, reliability, dispatchability, and cost of other renewable technologies. Two hybrid concepts were analyzed that involve co-production of gaseous hydrogen and electric power from thermochemical biorefineries. Both of the concepts analyzed share the basic idea of combining intermittent wind-generated electricity with a biomass gasification plant. The systems were studied in detail for process feasibility and economic performance. The best performing system was estimated to produce hydrogen at a cost of

Fast pyrolysis oil from pinewood chips co-processing with vacuum gas oil in an FCC unit for second generation fuel production

1.67/kg. The proposed hybrid systems seek to either fill energy shortfalls by supplying hydrogen to a peaking natural gas turbine or to absorb excess renewable power during low-demand hours. Direct leveling of intermittent renewable electricity production is accomplished with either an indirectly heated biomass gasifier, or a directly heated biomass gasifier. The indirect gasification concepts studied were found to be cost competitive in cases where value is placed on controlling carbon emissions. A carbon tax in the range of

Use of Cultivation Data from the Algae Testbed Public Private Partnership as Utilized in NREL's Algae State of Technology Assessments

26–40 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent (CO2 e) emission makes the systems studied cost competitive with steam methane reforming (SMR) to produce hydrogen. However, some additional value must be placed on energy peaking or sinking for these plants to be economically viable. The direct gasification concept studied replaces the air separation unit (ASU) with an electrolyzer bank and is unlikely to be cost competitive in the near future. High electrolyzer costs and wind power requirements make the hybridization difficult to justify economically without downsizing the system. Based on a direct replacement of the ASU with electrolyzers, hydrogen can be produced for

Environmental, Economic, and Scalability Considerations and Trends of Selected Fuel Economy-Enhancing Biomass-Derived Blendstocks

0.27 premium per kilogram. Additionally, if a non-renewable, grid-mix electricity is used, the hybrid system is found to be a net CO2 e emitter.Copyright