Gevo to Convert Fuel Ethanol from ADM to Jet Fuel
by Craig Bettenhausen (Chemical & Engineering News) The deal would be an expansion for Gevo and a move away from ethanol for ADM — … ADM and the biobased chemical maker Gevo have signed a letter of intent that calls for Gevo to take 3.4 billion L per year of ADM’s corn ethanol output and convert it into 1.9 billion L of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other hydrocarbons starting in 2025. ADM makes the ethanol at three plants in the Midwest.
CEO Juan Luciano said in an investor call that ADM is reducing its exposure to ethanol for blending with gasoline because of volatility in that market.
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The core of Gevo’s process is a set of methods to convert ethanol to ethylene. From there, CEO Pat Gruber explains, Gevo dimerizes, oligomerizes, and hydrogenates the ethylene to C8–C12 hydrocarbons, which it then separates into kerosene-type jet fuel, octane, and other valuable hydrocarbons.
Gevo has a related process for making jet fuel from isobutyl alcohol, including yeast engineered to produce the four-carbon alcohol from sugar and starch. The two firms are looking to deploy that technology at a new facility at ADM’s site in Decatur, Illinois, which is already equipped with carbon-capture and sequestration equipment.
Gevo’s isobutyl alcohol–based jet fuel process is certified in the European Union as emitting 75% less greenhouse gases than petroleum-based fuel manufacture.
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Gruber says the ADM projects will combine Gevo’s internally developed technology with engineering packages, catalysts, and equipment licensed recently from Axens North America, an established player in olefin conversion processes. That relationship is exciting, he says, because ethylene and isobutylene are feedstocks for a huge range of polymers and specialty chemicals. READ MORE