Novel Catalytic for Conversion of Ethanol and Gasoline ... · • Existing ethanol production of...
Transcript of Novel Catalytic for Conversion of Ethanol and Gasoline ... · • Existing ethanol production of...
Novel Catalytic Technology for Conversion of Ethanol and Other Alcohols to Gasoline, Jet, and
Diesel Fuel Blend Stocks
Charles E. Wyman, PhDFounder, President, and CEO
Vertimass LLCIrvine, California
BIO MeetingPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
May 13, 2014
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Challenges for Fuel Ethanol• Ethanol is not fully fungible with petroleum fuels for
transport via existing pipelines• Ethanol creates concerns about lower mileage and
different solvent properties• Existing ethanol production of ~14 billion gallons is
saturating U.S. 10% gasoline blend market• Higher level blends require additional infrastructure,
engine modifications for lower air‐fuel ratios, and auto and oil company acceptance
• Ethanol energy density is too low for jet fuel • Ethanol cannot be easily run in compression ignition
engines for heavy duty vehicles 2
Novel catalyst creates Vertimass business opportunity• New catalyst developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory through DOE support converts ethanol into jet, diesel, and gasoline fuel blend stocks fungible with current transportation fuel infrastructure
• Several patent applications filed• Vertimass has exclusive worldwide license to ORNL catalyst technology for converting ethanol into fungible gasoline, jet, and diesel fuel blend stocks 3
Advantages of Novel Catalyst • Single step conversion of ethanol into hydrocarbon
blend stocks with high yields, • No hydrogen addition, • High yields of targeted products with minimal
amounts of light gases, • Mild (relatively low temperature and atmospheric
pressure) operating conditions, • Robust catalyst• Ability to process 5 to 100% ethanol concentrations, • Product flexibility to respond to changing market
demands, and • Low Capex and Opex
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Novel Catalyst Transforms Ethanol into Fungible Blend Stocks in One Step without Added Hydrogen
Low-cost metal-exchanged zeolite catalyst
Hydrous ethanol in distillation column
Aromatic and Aliphatic HCs typical of blend stock constituents(C4-C12) with water and trace ethylene byproducts
Group % Volume
Paraffins 3.855
I‐Paraffins 9.588
Olefins 5.371
Naphthalenes 1.988
Aromatics 79.198
Oxygenates 0.00
Unidentified 4.203
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Stoichiometric Ethanol Conversion
Constant LHSV of 2.93 h-1
Funded by DOE‐EERE‐BETO. Initial funds were from BESC, DOE Office of Science‐BER and ORNL LDRD
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• Operated over a range of sizes at laboratory and bench scales
Lab Scale
(200 mg Catalyst)(5‐15 g Catalyst)
~50x
Larger Lab Scale
~10x
Bench Scale
120 grams catalyst processing rate equivalent to ~ 1 gal ethanol/day
Experimental Catalytic Reactor Systems
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• Temperatures of 300 to 350°C• Atmospheric pressure
• LHSV of 1.2 h‐1 or less
Funded by DOE‐EERE‐BETO. Initial funds were from BESC, DOE Office of Science‐BER and ORNL LDRD
Mild Reaction Conditions
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• Catalyst regenerates in air at less than 450°C
• Durable under accelerated aging
• No impact of water or fermentation impurities
• Can process 5 to 100% ethanol in water Sample Catalyst
Regeneration
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
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0 50 100 150 200
% B
len
d S
tock
Time (hr)
LHSV = 0.585 hr-1 % Fuel
Funded by DOE‐EERE‐BETO. Initial funds were from BESC, DOE Office of Science‐BER and ORNL LDRD
Robust Catalyst
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Gasoline blend stocksTotal Calculated Research Octane # (RON) = 105.7Total Calculated Motor Octane # (MON) = 90.6Average MW = 9660% aromatics
Diesel/Jet blend stocksTotal Calculated RON = 112.7Total Calculated MON = 95.5Average MW = 9575% aromatics
Number of Carbon (% Volume)
“Jet”
“Gasoline”
Product Flexibility
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Fermentation broth
of ethanol in water
Wet ethanol
Water, cells, solids
Distillatio
n
Dehydration Catalytic conversion
Anhydrous ethanol Jet fuel, diesel
fuel, and/or gasoline blend
stocks
Existing ethanol production approach Bolt‐on to make fungible fuel blend stocks
Can employ in parallel with dehydration unit to swing between ethanol and hydrocarbon blend stocks
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Engine Testing of Gasoline Blend Stock from Catalytic Process
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• Simple operation results in low operating costs• Primary cost is for catalyst replacement• Some energy cost
• Also results in low capital costs• Minimal equipment – low pressure reactor, heat
exchangers, decanter• Preliminary technoeconomic analysis at NREL on
stover via SSF suggests that hydrocarbon blend stock is cost competitive
Low Capex, Low Opex
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Markets• Current ethanol production
• U.S. ~14 billion gals/year mostly from corn starch• Brazil ~5.6 billion gals/year from cane sugar• Rest of world ~8.9 billion gals/year
• Cellulolsic ethanol production starting to ramp up• Projects in progress by companies such as Abengoa,
DuPont, Enerkem, M&G/Beta‐Renewables, and POET
• USDA and DOE estimate up to ~1.4 billion dry tons/year of biomass could be available to produce ~100 billion gallons of gasoline equivalent
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2012 U.S. Transportation Fuel Markets
Fuel Billion gal/year
Gasoline 133.0
Diesel 58.2
Jet Fuel 21.8
Ethanol 13.8
Total 226.8
Source: http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=23&t=10 15
Benefits for Ethanol Producers • Eliminates 10% blend wall by converting ethanol into “drop‐in” hydrocarbon fuels• Ethanol now stalled at ~10% of gasoline market due to fungibility and other concerns
• Catalyst produces fungible blend stock• Opens up new fuel markets for ethanol for:
• Air travel • Heavy duty vehicles
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Environmental and Other Societal Benefits• Vertimass renewable gasoline, jet, and diesel blend stocks can reduce
greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) compared to petroleum derived fuelsGreenhouse Gas Reductions*
Ethanol Feedstock % GHG reductions
Corn 25%
Sugarcane 61%
Cellulosic >95%
* Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) http://ethanolrfa.org/page/‐/rfa‐association‐site/studies/rfs_ghgs_at_a_glance.pdf?nocdn=1** Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pages/ethanol‐facts‐environment
• Smog reductions (lower CO and volatile organic compounds VOCs)**• Lower water requirements compared to conventional gasoline**• Favorable energy balance to produce fuels (Fuel Energy Out – Fuel
Energy In)• Enhance US fuel security, create jobs, assist energy independence, and
support rural America 17
Vertimass Business Strategy• License technology widely• Integrate novel catalyst into existing ethanol facilities for rapid market penetration
• Facilitate market entry of ethanol produced from cellulosic biomass
• Eliminate need for ethanol dehydration step in ethanol plants
• Provide low cost conversion of ethanol into fungible fuel blend stocks from biomass
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The Vertimass Team – Complementary Expertise• Chairman – William A. Shopoff• President & CEO – Charles Wyman, Ph.D.• COO – John Hannon, Ph.D.• Executive VP – Tom Mullen• CFO – Sandra Sciutto, CPA• Board Member– Martin Keller, Ph.D.• Technology Development Engineer – Brian Davison, Ph.D.• Catalyst Development Scientist – Chaitanya Narula, Ph.D.• Team of consultants with extensive experience in:
• Biofuels development and commercialization• Catalyst research and development • Catalyst scale‐up• Ethanol technology and markets• Petroleum refining and markets 19
• Qualify Fuel• Engage engineering firm for commercial design and to guide data requirements to support scale‐up
• Partner with ethanol producers and/or fuel end users to select site for pilot and commercial operations
• Design, build, and operate pilot unit for scale up• Produce larger quantities of fuel as needed for further fuel qualification tests
• License technology to commercial producers
Next Steps
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• Strategic partnering with: • Ethanol producers• Engineering firms• Catalyst manufacturers• Energy companies• Airlines• Military
• Funding rounds with:• Strategic investors• Venture capitalists
Next Steps
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Fermentation broth
of ethanol in water
Wet ethanol
Water, cells, solids
Distillatio
n
Catalytic conversion
Jet fuel, diesel fuel, and/or
gasoline blend stocks
Existing ethanol distillation Bolt‐on to make fungible blend stocks
Questions?
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Input MarketOutputProcess
Ethanol• US: corn
ethanol• Brazil: cane
sugar ethanol • World:
cellulosic biomass ethanol
Catalytic Conversion
• Simple process
• Short reaction times
• Cheap catalyst• High yields• Mild
conditions• Like refining
catalysts
Gasoline, Jet, and Diesel Fuel Blend Stocks
• High yields of hydrocarbon blend stocks
• Tailored to markets
• Fungible in pipelines
Transportation Fuels
• Huge commodity markets
• Aviation• Heavy duty
vehicles• Eliminates
ethanol blend wall
Business: Develop and license technology for ethanol conversion into fungible hydrocarbon fuel blend stocks
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Source: Biofuels for Energy Security and Transportation Act of 2007- U.S. Market
Effective 2010: Energy legislation mandating cellulosic fuels
BG
Y
60% of Biofuels
from Cellulosic21BGY
20% of Fuel
Stream from
Biofuels>$75B Market
Ethanol Blend wall (10%of 149
BGY)
Vertimass eliminates the
blend wall
10% Ethanol Blend Wall
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