Advanced BioFuels USA

by Olatomiwa Bifarin* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The June edition of the Northeast bioenergy webinar series by Northeast Woody/Warm-season Biomass Consortium (NEWBio) featured Kwesi Boateng – Lead Scientist at the United States Department of Energy, Agricultural Research Service, (USDA-ARS) Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.
He discussed the thermochemical conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals via the pyrolysis platform: the basics of pyrolysis, various national issues, technologies developed at the Eastern Regional Research Center and current research projects.
Below are the highlights of the webinar presentation.
What does pyrolysis means?
Pyrolysis is defined as the heating of organic matter in the absence of air. There are two types; slow pyrolysis and fast pyrolysis. The slow pyrolysis takes several hours to be completed with the main product, biochar, (charcoal). On the other hand, fast pyrolysis involves heating of the biomass between 300 and 500 degrees Celsius for few seconds, and the three products of this process include bio-oil, small amount of biochar (about 20%) and syngas.
The main product of the fast pyrolysis; bio-oil, is a complex mixture of oxygenated hydro-carbons with an acidic pH (around 2) which is very unstable. Like biomass, it is rich in oxygen and deficient in hydrogen when compared to petroleum. The inherent features of high oxygen and water content make it inferior to conventional hydrocarbon fuels.
The cost of production per 42-gallon barrel is between $37 and $52, and with the use of existing and appropriate infrastructures the gasoline selling price could be around $3.
USDA-ARS Research Projects
Pyrolysis-Oil stabilization project: In collaboration with several institutions and academia, ARS used a Fluidized-Bed Pyrolysis System – Kwesinator for catalyst screening. At the end of the project, ARS had developed a catalyst fast pyrolysis (CFP) technology for the production of pyrolysis oil from several agriculturally relevant feedstocks (oak, switchgrass, guayule, lignin among others) with reduced oxygen content.
Catalytic pyrolysis technologies developed include in-situ catalytic pyrolysis and ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis.
National Advanced Biofuel Consortium (NABC) Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis: Following the pyrolysis oil stabilization project, ARS investigators worked on expanding the catalysts screened to include several others in the arsenal of catalysts, in a three year project held in conjunction with UOP, however, UOP pulled out after the first year to venture into commercialization.
USDA-ARS Non-Catalytic Technologies: After UOP opted out, ARS went on to expand its portfolio of pyrolysis processes to include a compendium of technologies for producing partially deoxygenated and stable pyrolysis oil. Some of these technologies include a patent-pending non-catalytic process involving pyrolysis in a reactive gas atmosphere produced by tail gas recycling – Tail Gas Reactive Pyrolysis (TGRP), the use of proteinaceous biomass and condensed phase pyrolysis oil upgrading.
These projects lead to the production of a more stable pyrolysis oil especially with the use of ARS TGRP technology. Therefore, a full pyrolysis biorefinery appears possible for the production of fungible fuels.
Conclusions on Work to Date and Directions
To be able to capture the intended market of drop-in fuels and chemicals, it will require the ensemble of technologies with pathways toward stable pyrolysis liquids, process (catalytic or non-catalytic) with a combination of feedstock selection, distribution on-farm to decrease collection radius and a host of others.
Currently, USDA-ARS is working to put all the technologies together in an integrated form for operation and demonstration on the farm in order to address some of the aforementioned issues.
The research project headed by Kwesi Boateng is titled “Distributed on-Farm Bioenergy, Biofuels & Biochemicals (Farmbio3) Development & Production via Integrated Catalytic Thermolysis.” The project which started on the first of October 2012 is scheduled to be completed by May 31, 2015. [1]
According to USDA-ARS, the objectives of the research projects are two-fold “(i) to leverage the existing synergies among partners to further research and optimize pyrolysis pathways to commodity fuels and chemicals and improve the TRL 4 status already achieved at ARS and (ii) increase to on-farm scale that will enable the current state of technology to, TRL 6, commercial status.” [1]
The focus of the research study would be on feedstock selection, multifunctional catalysts needed for condensed-phase upgrading of real pyrolysis liquids to fuels and chemicals, sustainability including social sustainability and market potential metrics development and exploring commercialization potential.
Other team members include Mesa Inc., Morrisville State College, University of Maine, University of Delaware, Drexel University among other institutions.
Sources
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?accn_no=423949
 
*Olatomiwa Bifarin is studying for his Masters degree in Biotechnology at The Catholic University of America. As an intern at Advanced Biofuels USA, he represents the organization  and reports on events in Washington, DC, and nearby areas.