The 40 Hottest Technologies of 2018 – as voting gets underway, the nominees in depth
Low-Pressure, Fixed-Bed Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Process Delivers Low-Cost Production of Versatile Bio-Oil
What does it do, how does it work, who is it aimed at?
Breaking from the conventional practice of using circulating-bed reactors with zeolite catalysts (e.g., HZSM-5), NREL’s innovative catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) process uses bifunctional non-zeolite catalysts in a low-pressure, fixed-bed reactor configuration to produce fuel blendstocks from lignocellulosic biomass. Following pyrolysis, the biomass vapors are exposed to a fixed-bed of Pt/TiO2 catalyst with co-fed H2 at near atmospheric pressure to generate a stabilized bio-oil, which exhibits an oxygen content ~50% lower than bio-oil generated from non-catalytic fast pyrolysis. The stabilized CFP bio-oil is then hydrotreated in a single-stage system to produce a 50:50 mix of gasoline and diesel blendstocks. To date, the Pt/TiO2 catalyst has been operated for over 90 reaction-regeneration cycles and with stable performance with and no evidence of irreversible deactivation. Stable, continuous hydrotreating of the CFP bio-oil has also been demonstrated for 140 hours time-on-stream.
Competitively, what gives this technology an edge?
NREL’s CFP process generates both cost-competitive renewable fuel at yields greater than 70 gallons/ton of biomass and high-value chemicals and materials from a versatile bio-oil intermediate. The key differentiators for this process are:
1. Reduced production costs due to high overall carbon (>40%) and energy (>50%) efficiencies to fuel blendstocks from lignocellulosic biomass
2. Single-stage hydrotreating as compared to the multi-stage process required for non-catalytic pyrolysis oil
3. Reduced downstream hydrotreating and separation costs due to generating a stabilized, refinery-compatible bio-oil
4. The cost of the wood-based feedstock is decoupled from petroleum and exhibits significantly lower volatility
5. Greater than 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-sourced fuels, providing a pathway for meeting regulatory mandates (RFS-D3, LCFS) through cellulosic fuels
6. All required H2 is generated on-site through reforming of light gases.
What stage of development is this technology at right now?
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