Bio-SynDiesel and Bio-SynJet from EBTL and BETL Processes

by David J. Patterson and Gord Crawford (Expander Energy Inc./Biofuels Digest) Expander’s Enhanced Biomass to Liquids (EBTL™) and Biomass Electrolysis to Liquids (BETL™) processes produce and combine hydrogen and carbon monoxide into paraffin carbon chains in the diesel boiling range to produce “drop-in” synthetic diesel or jet fuel. The three elements for the process:

Bio-SynDiesel® is paraffin hydrocarbon derived from (atmospheric) carbon, is fungible with petroleum diesel and can be blended at any ratio. Bio-SynDiesel® is a premium diesel with zero sulphur, Cetane >75 (petroleum diesel 40 in North America and 51 in Europe) and no aromatics. This results in lower NOx and particulate emissions. Higher Cetane number results in more even combustion reducing unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. It is sulphur free thereby eliminating SOx from the engine exhaust. In addition, there is modest reduction in carbon dioxide emissions since paraffins have a higher hydrogen/carbon ratio than both cycloparaffins and aromatics.

Greyrock’s FT synthesis technology produces chemically identical paraffins as the Shell and SASOL processes. However, there is a difference in the post reactor processing.

Greyrock’s process limits the carbon chain length to the end point of diesel and only the light-ends need to be removed by distillation. Shell or SASOL processes react to form long chain waxes which are subsequently hydro-processed and fractionated into various boiling ranges including diesel. This distinction enables the Greyrock technology to be economical at small scale and is preferred for Expander’s BTL projects. The Shell and similarly processed diesels require lubricity additives whereas Bio-SynDiesel® does not. Bio-SynDiesel® will meet summer diesel cold pour point specifications without hydro processing. Winter diesel specifications can be met through addition of pour point depressant and blending with petroleum diesel.

Synthetic Diesel improves engine performance and air quality. Synthetic Diesel has shown to be “readily biodegradable” achieving 60% biodegradation within 28 days.

Forest Managers highly support the development of bioindustries capable of using the waste forest biomass from harvest operations, wood processing mills, and which help reduce fuel loading from removal of waste debris. Removal of waste forest biomass from stand treatments; to FireSmart our forest landscapes, assists in reducing the spread of wildfires. Future partnerships with Forest Industries will not only provide biomass feedstocks (carbon cycling in the environment) but also aid in the reduction of carbon emissions from mitigating the spread of forest wildfires (which are accelerating from Climate Change). And waste forest biomass is an abundant low cost source of cellulosic biomass which can be expanded to integrate other sources such as dead tree snags in burned over forests, right-of-way land clearing or agricultural/industrial expansion waste.

Since 2022 the Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels project at Carseland, Alberta; using proven Fischer Tropsch technology with natural gas, has proven viable production of SynDiesel and naptha. Installation of Expander Energy’s proprietary tar free biomass gasifier to produce syngas to produce Bio-SynDiesel will occur at Carseland in 2025. READ MORE