Larry G. Felix

Laboratory pelletization of hydrochar from woody biomass

Pelletization is an important method for increasing the mass and energy density of raw woody biomass materials and improving their handling and transport. Further increases in mass and energy density are possible by thermal pretreatment of raw biomass prior to pelletization, via torrefaction or hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). In this work, standardized laboratory test methods were developed, validated, and utilized to provide reliable assessments of pellet properties – both before and after immersion in water, as water immersion is a severe test of pellet durability. Pellets of raw or torrefied woody biomass cannot survive a standard tumbler durability test after water immersion, while pellets of hydrochar (produced by HTC processing) demonstrate excellent durability under these conditions. In part, the excellent pellet binding behavior of hydrochar is due to resins produced in the HTC process. Hydrochar can also be used as a binder to substantially improve the pelletization of raw wood and torrefied wood.

Long Term Processing Using Integrated Hydropyrolysis plus Hydroconversion (IH2) for the Production of Gasoline and Diesel from Biomass

Cellulosic and woody biomass can be directly converted to hydrocarbon gasoline and diesel blending components through the use of a new, economical, technology named integrated hydropyrolysis plus hydroconversion (IH2). The IH2 gasoline and diesel blending components are fully compatible with petroleum based gasoline and diesel, contain less than 1% oxygen and have less than 1 total acid number (TAN). The IH2 gasoline is high quality and very close to a drop in fuel. The life cycle analysis (LCA) shows that the use of the IH2 process to convert wood to gasoline and diesel results in a greater than 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emission compared to that found with fossil derived fuels. The technoeconomic analysis showed the conversion of wood using the IH2 process can produce gasoline and diesel at less than

Olivine catalysts for methane- and tar-steam reforming

2.00/gallon. In this project, the previously reported semi-continuous small scale IH2 test results were confirmed in a continuous 50 kg/day pilot plant. The continuous IH2 pilot plant used in this project was operated round the clock for over 750 hours and showed good pilot plant operability while consistently producing 26-28 wt % yields of high quality gasoline and diesel product. The IH2 catalyst showed good stability, although more work on catalyst stability is recommended. Additional work is needed to commercialize the IH2 technology including running large particle size biomass, modeling the hydropyrolysis step, studying the effects of process variables and building and operating a 1-50 ton/day demonstration scale plant. The IH2 is a true game changing technology by utilizing U.S. domestic renewable biomass resources to create transportation fuels, sufficient in quantity and quality to substantially reduce our reliance on foreign crude oil. Thus, the IH2 technology offers a path to genuine energy independence for the U. S., along with the creation of a significant number of new U.S. jobs to plant, grow, harvest, and process biomass crops into fungible fuels.