The Big Biofuels Blog

The Catalyst Group Resources (TCGR) has identified a number of attractive avenues worthy of further consideration.  Developed for members of its Catalytic Advances Program (CAP) and entitled Catalysis in Biofuels Applications, the study addresses three (3) principal routes for pursuit, broken out by area of bio-based source as follows:          

Liquid Biofuels from Oils and Fats:

 

- New heterogeneous catalyst technology is needed to allow the transesterification reaction to be conducted at lower temperatures with strong resistance to contaminants.  This should reduce the cost of production and could allow additional decentralization of production, which reduces transportations costs. 

 

- Adding value to the co-products derived from processing oils and fats into fuels can be pursued via the integrated bio-refinery concept, which can then be extended to incorporate ethanol production from corn or cellulosic feedstocks and methanol production from the biogas produced by anaerobic digesters utilizing agricultural waste.

 

Liquid Biofuels Made by Direct Liquefaction of Biomass:

- Catalytic primary liquefaction is still in the embryonic stage of development. Cheap, robust catalysts are needed that can withstand severe fouling and poisoning conditions. Attention should be focused on oxygen removal and control of the molecular weight (MW) of the oil product.  Improvements in simplification and robustness should allow operation in remote/rural areas on a small-to-medium scale.

- For upgrading primary bioliquids (e.g., pyrolysis oil) via deoxygenation, strategies for implementation in existing refineries need to be developed. The optimal combinations of the primary liquid fractions and requisite upgrading technologies merit further investigation. 

- Catalysts for deoxygenation that combine decarboxylation (DCO) and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) conversions with minimal hydrogen consumption are needed.

Liquid Biofuels Made by Catalytic Gasification of Biomass and Syngas Conversion:

- The design, development and selection of improved catalysts for solid biomass gasifiers should focus on mechanical strength and attrition resistance.

- Bioliquids gasification should enter the process development stage now. Autothermal operation and long-term stability of catalysts are needed. Lowering the operating temperature would allow heat integration with exothermic reaction heat from synthesis reactions such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

- Co-reforming of bioliquids and natural gas or naphtha would facilitate fast introduction of large amounts of renewable hydrogen or synthesis gas. In addition, integration of catalytic gasification and gas cleaning (e.g., S, Cl, tar) in a single process is possible but has hardly been explored.

 

In this detailed and comprehensive 115-page report which summarizes recent progress on catalysis in biofuels applications, members of The Catalyst Group Resources' (TCGR's) Catalytic Advances Program (CAP) have exclusive access to a state of the art report. The study not only provides a comprehensive treatment of new science and technology with an extensive review of the literature, but also puts recent developments in perspective relative to existing technology.  The most recent advances and most commercially promising technologies are assessed in detail.  The report is authored by leading industrial and academic experts and is peer reviewed. 

 

Additional technical reports issued on a members-only basis in 2008 include: "Direct Conversion of Methane, Ethane and Carbon Dioxide to Fuels and Chemicals" and "Catalytic Conversion of Syngas to Chemical Products".

 

To view the report's complete Table of Contents, List of Figures and List of Tables, please visit http://www.catalystgrp.com/capprogram.html.  For further information on these reports and the membership-driven Catalytic Advances Program (CAP), please contact Mr. John J. Murphy (John.J.Murphy@catalystgrp.com) or call 215-628-4447.

Certainly, it is both timely and interesting that G. roseum
can utilize cellulose for the production of hydrocarbons
given the enormous volumes of foodstuff grains currently
being utilized for alcohol (fuel) production. However, the
yields of these compounds were lower than those found on
the oatmeal-based medium, probably because the digestion
of cellulose is rate limiting. Increases in the yields of these
products may be enhanced by new developments in
fermentation technology, membrane technologies and
genetic manipulation (Danner & Braun, 1999).

Their ambassadors to the EU have drafted a joint letter, which Reuters claims to have seen, saying the safeguards "impose unjustifiably complex requirements" on producer nations.

HONEYWELL'S UOP GREEN FUEL TECHNOLOGY TO POWER
BIOFUEL DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT FOR AIR NEW ZEALAND

UOP process technology produced green jet fuel from jatropha that will power an
Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400

DES PLAINES, Ill., Nov. 11, 2008 - UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE: HON) company, announced today that its process technology was used to convert second-generation, renewable feedstocks to green jet fuel that will be used on a demonstration flight by Air New Zealand.

UOP collaborated with Air New Zealand, Boeing and Rolls-Royce to produce and test renewable jet fuel made from the oil of jatropha plants. The flight, slated for Dec. 3 in Auckland, New Zealand, will be the first ever of a commercial airliner powered by sustainable, second-generation renewable resources. The green jet fuel will be mixed 50/50 with Jet A1 and will power one of the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400's Rolls-Royce engines RB211 engines.

"We must diversify our fuel supply to meet the rapid growth in energy demand while effectively balancing social and environmental needs," said Jennifer Holmgren, general manager of UOP's Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit. "This team has stepped up to do something about the rapidly evolving energy landscape, and as a result, we could see viable commercial-scale production and usage of biofuels in the aviation industry in a matter of just a few years."

Jatropha, an inedible plant can grow in conditions where other food crops cannot, is considered a sustainable, second-generation resource because its cultivation and harvesting do not tax valuable food, land or water resources, and can provide socioeconomic benefit to the regions where it is grown. 

UOP, a recognized global leader in process technology to convert petroleum feedstocks to fuels and chemicals, is developing a range of processes to produce green fuels from natural feedstocks. UOP's green jet fuel process technology is based on the hydroprocessing technology commonly used in today's refineries to produce transportation fuels.

In this process, hydrogen is added to remove oxygen from the biological feedstock such as oil from jatropha plants or algae. The result is a bio-derived jet fuel that acts as a drop-in replacement for petroleum-based jet fuel and meets all of the critical specifications for flight. 

Fuel produced for the sample flight was tested by aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and has successfully proven to meet all critical jet fuel specifications for flight, including a freeze point at  -47 degrees Celsius and a flash point at 38 degrees Celsius.

"Laboratory testing showed the final blend had excellent properties meeting and, in many cases, exceeding the stringent technical requirements for fuels used in civil and defense aircraft," said Company Specialist for Fuels at Rolls-Royce Chris Lewis. "The blended fuel therefore meets the essential requirement of being a 'drop-in' fuel, meaning its properties will be virtually indistinguishable from conventional fuel, Jet A1, which is used in commercial aviation today."            

Boeing Commercial Airplane's Managing Director of Environmental Strategy Billy Glover said, "The processing technology exists today and based on results we've seen it's highly encouraging that this fuel not only met, but exceeded three key criteria for the next generation of jet fuel - higher-than expected jet fuel yields, very low freeze point and good energy density - that tell us we're on the right path to certification and commercial availability."

"This flight strongly supports our efforts to be the world's most environmentally responsible airline," said Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe. "We recently demonstrated the fuel and environmental gains that can be achieved through advanced operational procedures using Boeing 777s. We're also modernizing our fleet as we await our Trent 1000-powered 787-9 Dreamliners that will burn 20 percent less fuel than the planes they replace. Introducing a new generation of sustainable fuels is the next logical step in our efforts to further save fuel and reduce aircraft emissions."

UOP's Renewable Energy & Chemicals business, which was formed in late 2006, has already commercialized the UOP/Eni Ecofining™ process to produce green diesel fuel from biological feedstocks. UOP has ongoing research efforts in biofuels, with specific focus on second-generation feedstocks working with organizations like the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab and Pacific Northwest National Lab. Its process technology to convert natural oils and greases to jet fuel was originally developed as part of a project funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

UOP, Boeing and Air New Zealand, along with Air France, ANA (All Nippon Airways), Cargolux, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic Airways, joined the Sustainable Aviation Fuel User's Group to accelerate the development and commercialization of sustainable new aviation fuels.

Honeywell International is a $38 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For additional information, please visit www.honeywell.com.

UOP LLC, headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA, is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. UOP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc. and is part of Honeywell's Specialty Materials strategic business group. For more information, go to www.uop.com.

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Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono on Tuesday defended Indonesia's drive to expand oil palm plantations, despite a demand by environmentalists for a moratorium on deforestation.

Speaking in his keynote address at the opening of the sixth annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, Apriyantono said any moratorium, including that recently called for by Greenpeace, was beyond the control of the Indonesian government. 

It must be that there are other forces at work. Surely, it would be more environmentally sensible to intensify production in existing plantations.

If you've been following the debate on energy intensity on the Big Biofuels Blog, mostly buried in the comments, (and perhaps more relevantly here) then you'll know that I've been interested in the cradle to grave carbon dioxide position of palm oil. I'm indebted to Almuth on biofuel watch, who points me to this page .

Here's the key Passage

Deforestation also releases amounts of carbon which is held by the vegetation, ie above soil. Indonesia's old growth forests are estimated to hold around 306 tonnes of carbon per hectare.5 86% of that carbon are lost during 'selective logging', which tends to be followed by land clearance for plantations or agriculture. A mature oil palm plantation only holds less carbon than logged forest, around 63 tonnes per hectare, but those plantations have an average life-time of only 25 years.

As Almuth says in answer to a question about how much carbon dioxide can be attributed to biodiesel from  palm oil...

If you are looking for precise information as to how much of this is related to producing palm oil from biodiesel - no such information is available.  It would require detailed auditing but the palm oil supply chain is not transparent and not traceable. Apart from the very partial reporting requirements in the UK, there are no requirements on biodiesel producers or suppliers to disclose the origin of their feedstock (although a lot of them are very open about using palm oil for biodiesel). In any case, as you will be aware, there are serious question marks over the relevance of putting too much reliance on direct impacts.

 Mayor Phil Gordon announced Friday that the fire department would work with other municipal offices on a biodiesel task force to educate residents on the hazards of skirting permits, codes and regulations.

The fire chief, Bob Khan, said the goal was to teach residents to produce biodiesel without accidentally setting off an explosion.