Advanced Fuel & Refining Technology - EERC Foundation · Renewable Jet Propulsion dvane uel an Renin Tenolo Renewable Jet Propulsion – Advanced Fuel & Refining Technology EERC

Renewable Jet Propulsion – Advanced Fuel and Refining Technology

Renewable Jet Propulsion – Advanced Fuel & Refining Technology

EERC . . . The International Center for Applied Energy Technology®


Commercial Application

The Energy & Environmental Research Center’s (EERC’s) renewable jet propulsion (JPχ)technology converts natural oils and natural oil derivatives into 100% fungible aviation kerosene meeting JP-8, JP-5, and other fuel specifications. These “drop-in” jet turbine fuels can directly supplement or replace petroleum-derived kerosene. JPχ fuels are ultraclean burning and have a low carbon footprint. The JPχ technology is unique in that it can be easily tailored to produce the next generation of turbine fuels for high-performance applications. It also provides a solution for refineries that have a need for upgrading conventional and synthetic fuels.

Commercial Opportunity

Enhanced operability, energy security, and reducing aviation’s impact on the environment are drivers toward the use of renewable sources for producing jet fuels. There has been a broad suite of legislation and worldwide action in response to these drivers:

• In July 2008, the European Union decided to regulate aviation emissions under its carbon emission-trading scheme. The estimated cost to industry over the next decade is 7 billion euros (US$9.21 billion).

•The U.S. Air Force aims to acquire 50% (325 million gallons, mostly JP-8) of its continental U.S. fuel from a nonpetroleum source by 2016.

•The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) expressed interest in an advanced universal military fuel, preferably from a synthetic process, to improve energy security. This “battlefield use fuel of the future” will be very similar to existing jet fuel in specifications but will, for example, have a more stringent flash point specification temperature range (60°C, comparable to JP-5, instead of the 38°C required for JP-8).

• In August 2009, ASTM International (ASTM), the relevant standard-setting organization in the United States, approved a new fuel specification, ASTM D7566, “Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons.” This specification allows for alternatives that demonstrate that they are safe, effective, and otherwise meet the technical and fit-for-purpose requirements to be deployed as jet fuels.

Current Approaches

Commercial processes do not produce alternative fuels that meet the higher energy density and wide operating temperature range necessary for military aviation uses. Transesterification is a currently available commercial process for producing fuel from crop oil. These “biodiesel” fuels are 25% lower in energy density than jet fuel and exhibit unacceptable cold-flow features. Their use in commercial and military aviation is inherently unsafe.1

Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis has been used for the production of synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) blendstock from synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of gases comprising mostly hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO). According to ASTM D7566, FT products are required to be blended with at least 50% petroleum-derived Jet-A.

In principle, the syngas can be derived from biomass, although commercially viable FT systems exist today for coal (Sasol in South Africa) and natural gas only (Sasol in Qatar, Royal Dutch Shell in Malaysia, Mossgas in South Africa), requiring very large capital cost outlays. Another drawback is that even with a FT conversion process optimized for the production of kerosene, the straight run yield of kerosene is less than 30%.




Technology Advantage

Fungible, High-Quality Fuels: EERC JPχ fuel production has yielded high-quality, ultralow- sulfur jet fuel that meets Jet A-1 specifications, including a freeze point of −47°C (−52.6°F) and flash point of 38°C (100°F). While JPχ fuels fully comply with the physical specifications, they are also similar in chemical composition to petroleum-derived jet fuels, such as Jet-A or JP-8 (Figure 1 and Table 1).

The EERC has produced and shipped approximately 100 gallons of JPχ to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright–Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The fuel has been utilized in both primary and advanced tests, including test stand engine burns, material compatibility testing, and numerous thermal stability tests. The fuel samples have passed all tests conducted to date.

In addition, the EERC has produced high-flash- point samples that satisfied both the JP-8 and JP-5 specifications. These samples fit into the narrow area where the fuel could satisfy both specifications simultaneously. Also, the EERC has been active in producing numerous fuel samples that satisfy the hydrotreated renewable jet specification, ASTM D7566. These fuels are SPK fuels that may be blended with either Jet-A or Jet-A1. The ASTM specification D7566 requires that these fuels possess higher thermal stability than petroleum jet fuel as measured by a jet fuel thermal oxidation test. Fuel produced by the EERC has passed all tests it has been subjected to under D7566.

The EERC can have 10,000-gallon samples toll-produced for flight testing upon request.

5 10 15 20 25 30Time-->

Petroleum JP-8

EERC RenewableJP-8 from Yellow Grease

C13

C14 C15

C16

C12C9

C8C7

C11C10

C17 C18 C19

EERC CW32618.AI

Weight % n-Para�ns

C7-C9 C10-C13 C14-C16 C17-C19

5838

4751 1.6 13.2 3.0 0.12

5.8 14.3 2.7 0.16

Figure 1. Gas chromatography comparison of JP-8 and EERC jet fuel from yellow grease shows close

chemical similarity.


Flexible Feedstock: JPχ fuel formulations can be produced from a wide variety of nonfood, second-generation feedstocks. Feedstock is an important factor in both the technical and economic viability of a commercial renewable oil refinery. The EERC has successfully processed the following feedstocks into jet fuel: soybean oil, canola oil, camelina oil, crambe oil, cuphea oil, coconut oil, algae oils, and other feedstocks, including waste greases and wastes from biodiesel production facilities.2 This demonstrates the flexibility and robustness of the JPχ process. These feedstocks represent the range of what makes up typical natural oils and natural oil derivatives and were all processed similarly with similar performance results.

JP-8 SpecificationAppendix A

EERC JP-8 from Canola

EERC JP-8 from Crambe

EERC JP-8 from Soy FFA*

Aromatics, vol% 1, max. 0.2 0 0.7

Heat of Combustion, KJ/kg 42.8, min. 44.2 44.1 44.1

Distillation Temp., °C T10 T50 T90Final Boiling PointResidue, vol%Loss, vol%

157–205168–229183–262

3001.5, max.1.5, max.

1732042392541.31.0

1852172612791.30.7

1712062572751.30.6

Density, kg/L 0.751–0.840 0.767 0.769 0.765

Flash Point, °C 38–68 44 55 44

Freeze Point, °C –47, max. –54 –49 –53

* Free fatty acid.

Table 1. Comparison of Renewable Jet Fuel (SPK) Samples Produced at the EERC from a Variety of Crop Oils

Robust, Efficient Refining Process: Natural oils and low-cost natural oil derivatives have specific chemical properties that provide additional value to fuel formulation; however, this value is generally lost as they are being processed. The JPχ processing technology maintains this inherent value of the natural oils and, as it can operate on recycled waste oil streams, provides an economically attractive solution. Unique from traditional transesterification of natural oils, the EERC-developed JPχ technology produces oxygen-free hydrocarbons made up of the basic building blocks for a variety of fuels and petrochemical intermediates and products. The process has a

greater than 60% conversion efficiency, by energy content, of natural oil to aviation fuel.

Through the use of integrated unit operations that are similar to those used in the refining industry, predominantly JPχ fuel (over 50%) is produced, with the remainder being naphtha and diesel. The unit operations (Figure 2) include catalytic hydrodeoxygenation and isomerization (CHI or χ), providing hydrocarbons with the proper carbon-chain length for direct renewable replacements to petroleum-based fuels. The catalysts have been developed with a commercial catalyst partner.


Opportunity for Refinery Integration: JPχ processing technology can be readily collocated or even fully integrated into an existing refinery infrastructure for sustainable production. An immediate advantage is sharing utilities and hydrogen with the refinery. Another advantage is that JPχ process streams can be fed into different unit operations of the refinery to improve yields of various petroleum products. These benefits can be in the form of added cetane, better cold flow, or lower sulfur. In addition, renewable feeds can be further tailored with existing aromatic and cyclic hydrocarbon fractions from the refinery for improved performance and compliance of JPχ fuels.

Modular Design Basis: Another important aspect to energy security is overcoming the paradigm of universal large-scale energy systems. JPχ processing technology has far fewer unit processes than does standard refining and can be

adapted to a modular system. JPχ is based on the assumption that renewable fuel production is best done utilizing local resources and optimizing the production of energy and attendant salable by-product streams in addition to creating cost savings by mass production of modular system components.

In essence, modules can be added to a grid of coupled systems that can cost-effectively compete with large-scale production plants, resulting in a much quicker return on investment. Such a modular structure reduces economic risks, shortens the “time to market,” and thus increases capital productivity. This makes each gallon of synthetic JPχ more cost-effective.

Deoxygenation

Isomerization

Aromatization

FlexibleFeedstock

Propane

Gasoline

Jet Fuel

Diesel

Commercial Catalysts

• Vegetable Oils• Algal Oils• Free Fatty Acids (waste)

Figure 2. JPχ simplified process flow diagram.


Development Stage

Technology readiness level (TRL) is commonly used to define the maturity of developmental technology.3 The EERC’s JPχ technology has advanced to TRL 8 and is capable of producing large quantities of fuel for testing.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1–3: In 2003, the EERC initiated development of a thermocatalytic process for conversion of soybean and canola oils to jet fuel3. A variety of JPχ test samples were produced providing a proof of concept.

TRL 4–6: In 2006, DoD’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded the EERC $4.7 million to develop and demonstrate JPχ. The 18-month project produced enough fuel to allow DARPA to qualify the fuel, including testing on a ground-based fully instrumented T-63 shaft turbine, and delivered JPχ specification-compliant fuel and an initial pilot-scale production system.

TRL 7: In July 2009, the EERC’s renewable JP-8 (JPχ-8) was successfully burned in a Flowmetrics rocket in the Mojave Desert outside of San Diego, California. The fuel burn was so successful that the rocket approached Mach 1 (the speed of sound) and reached an altitude of about 20,000 feet with essentially no particulate emission. The rocket has previously been tested with standard Jet-A fuel and rocket propellant-1 (RP-1) kerosene, for which the rocket was originally designed (Figure 3). This successful burn of renewable JPχ-8 won the Best of What’s New Award from Popular Science Magazine in the aviation and space category.

Through joint development efforts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory and SAIC, fuel samples were provided from algae oil and other feedstock oils. Additionally, long-term production runs were conducted to demonstrate catalyst life and generate data needed for pilot plant design.

Figure 3. JPχ-8 powers a rocket in the Mojave Desert.



TRL 8 (current): A front-end engineering design (FEED) was recently completed for a pilot plant with the capacity to process200 barrels/day (B/D) of renewable feedstock into specification-compliant jet and diesel fuel. At a capacity of 200 B/D (3.5 million gallons/year), the pilot plant will be large enough to conduct precommercial-scale testing and optimization of the CHI process, develop the performance data needed for CHI scale-up to a commercial capacity of at least 100 million gallons/year, and produce fuel in quantities suitable for military and commercial evaluation and certification programs.

Type of CollaborationThe EERC is actively seeking demonstration and commercialization partners to support construction of the pilot-scale facility and subsequent commercial deployment.

Intellectual Property (IP) RightsDevelopment of a comprehensive package of IP rights is under way, including but not limited to the following:

•Aviation-Grade Kerosene from Independently Produced Blendstocks, U.S. Patent Application 2009/0000185A1, filed June 29, 2007

•Optimal Energy Pathway to Renewable Domestic and Other Fuels, U.S. Patent 7,897,824, filed August 16, 2006

•Process for the Conversion of Renewable Oils to Liquid Transportation Fuels, U.S. Patent 7,989,671, filed November 4, 2008.

•Multiproduct Biorefinery for Synthesis of Fuel Components and Chemicals from Lignocellulosics via Levulinate Condensations, U.S. Patent Application 2010/0312,028, filed June 5, 2009.

Figure 4. 3-D rendering of the 200-B/D plant design.

References1 The EERC worked in collaboration with AFRL at the

Wright–Patterson Air Force Base on tests in which soy methyl ester biodiesel was mixed with JP-8 and evaluated for performance and emission impacts using the AFRL T63-A-700 turboshaft engine test stand. Results of this work were published in the July 2005 issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association and showed that while a biodiesel addition to jet fuel can yield a significant particulate emission benefit at high power settings, it can also result in significant negative impacts on fuel freeze point and other key properties.

2 Crambe is an industrial crop, which is not utilized for human food. Crambe offers advantages over crops like canola in that it is similar to camelina in requiring low input of fertilizer and enhances wheat yield when used in rotation scenarios.

3 TRL from 1 (basic principles) to 9 (actual system fully proven).


For More Information Contact:

Thomas A. Erickson, EERC CEO and EERC Foundation Board [email protected]

John A. Harju, EERC Vice President for Strategic [email protected]

Edward N. Steadman, EERC Vice President for [email protected]

EERC Foundation15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9017Grand Forks, ND 58202-9017Phone: (701) 777-5000Fax: (701) 777-5181

www.eercfoundation.org

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Advanced Fuel & Refining Technology - EERC Foundation · Renewable Jet Propulsion dvane uel an Renin Tenolo Renewable Jet Propulsion – Advanced Fuel & Refining Technology EERC