The Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima) is a research and development consortia funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which has engaged partners from national laboratories, universities, and industry to conduct multidisciplinary research at the intersection of biofuels and combustion sciences. Since 2016, the Co-Optima team has examined high-quality bioblendstocks, and their properties, as design variables for increasing efficiency in modern engines while decarbonizing on-road light- and heavy-duty vehicles. The objective of this analysis is to combine and expand upon research into Co-Optima multi-mode bioblendstocks, which blend with petroleum gasoline to form high efficiency fuels for combustion in both spark ignition and advanced compression ignition engines. Consequently, the economic and environmental impacts of deploying 10 different multi-mode bioblendstocks derived from renewable and circular resources are quantified. Each bioblendstock is evaluated across several variables including (1) target blend levels of 10, 20, and 30 vol %, (2) years from 2030 to 2050, (3) crude oil benchmark prices, (4) vehicle lifetime miles, and (5) incremental vehicle costs. A Monte Carlo simulator is developed using a refinery optimization model and life-cycle analysis tool from prior Co-Optima research to sample marginal abatement costs of CO2, or cost of removing an additional unit of CO2, corresponding to each bioblendstock while considering input variable uncertainties. Results show that the combination of efficiency gains from advanced multi-mode fuel-engine technologies and the reoptimization of refinery operations results in several bioblendstocks demonstrating near-zero expected marginal abatement costs. Variable importances are also explored to highlight which aspects of the multi-mode technology are most influential in determining marginal abatement costs. Results suggest that Co-Optima multi-mode technology could provide economically viable decarbonization contributions to electrification-resistant light-duty vehicle sectors or near-term emission reductions, while Co-Optima fuels or alternatives decarbonize further to reach net-zero status.
This work seeks to understand what biofuel production pathways a refinery might prefer to produce very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) for marine applications. A comprehensive refinery optimization model was modified to allow for (1) direct blending of soy biodiesel, renewable diesel, Fischer–Tropsch diesel, and several pyrolysis oils and (2) indirect blending of all pyrolysis oils via co-processing in a fluidized catalytic cracker (FCC) and diesel hydrotreater into the marine fuel pool. Results showed that preferred pathways to bio-VLSFO production included co-processing low-quality pyrolysis oil in a FCC to blend the resulting biogenic light cycle oil, directly blending soy biodiesel, and directly blending small quantities of pyrolysis oil. Bio-VLSFO production costs were compared to those of fossil VLSFO subject to different marine fuel demands, benchmark crude oil prices, and biogenic fractions in the finished product. Given benchmark crude oil prices over 60 $/bbl, bio-VLSFO production appeared to be significantly cheaper than fossil VLSFO. Corresponding marginal abatement costs of CO2 mostly ranging from −300 to 350 $/ton of CO2 were also determined using a simplified but novel approach to allow for a comparison to other decarbonization strategies. This work indicates that low-sulfur contents in biofuels, relatively relaxed specifications for marine fuels, and current difficulties in meeting VLSFO specifications with crude oils can combine to make bio-VLSFO production cost-effective. Moreover, marine fuels appear to be a good entry point for refiners to start decarbonizing with biofuel pathways that could eventually be extended to other product pools.
The growth of the aviation industry coupled with its dependence on energy dense, liquid fuels has brought sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) research to the forefront of the biofuels community. Petroleum refineries will need to decide how to satisfy the projected increase in jet fuel demand with either capital investments to debottleneck current operations or by integrating bio-blendstocks. This work seeks to compare jet production strategies on a risk-adjusted, economic performance basis using Monte-Carlo simulation and refinery optimization models. Additionally, incentive structures aiming to de-risk initial SAF production from the refiner’s perspective are explored. Results show that market sensitive incentives can reduce the financial risks associated with producing SAFs and deliver marginal abatement costs ranging between 136-182 $/Ton-CO2e.
With the increased availability of low-cost natural gas, co-conversion of natural gas and biomass-to-liquid fuels has gained interest due to the potential to improve liquid fuel yields while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Petrobras have worked closely to develop process models and analysis approaches to assess the economic feasibility of co-processing bio-oils (pyrolysis oils) with fossil feedstocks in petroleum refinery unit operations. Petrobras conducted co-processing experiments with pine-derived bio-oils and Brazilian vacuum gasoil (VGO) at typical operating conditions on their 200 kg/h demonstration-scale fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit. NREL evaluated the experimental yield data and developed novel modeling approaches to simulate and optimize co-processing scenarios. Within the uncertainties of measurements and the simplified refinery models used, the process modeling and techno-economic analysis (TEA) results identify conditions in which co-processing bio-oils could be economically feasible for the case of refiners purchasing VGO, expanding prior work demonstrating technical feasibility. TEA scenarios show a high potential for bio-oil co-processing to be economically attractive for petroleum refiners for benchmark crude oil prices at $70 (U.S. dollars) per barrel using up to 5 wt% bio-oil produced with typical fast pyrolysis technology (≤400 t/d) fed with dried pine chips. For oil prices per barrel of $55–$60, up to 10 wt% bio-oil could be co-processed profitably if produced in pyrolysis plants performing at an "nth-plant" level, feeding 2,000 t/d with dried pine chip feedstocks producing bio-oil at $48–$56 per barrel from feedstock ranging from $99-$132 per t ($90–$120 per ton). Alternatively, low-price biomass feedstocks could make bio-oil co-processing viable at lower oil prices in both cases.
Abstract This work describes in detail one potential conversion process for the production of high‐octane gasoline blendstock via indirect liquefaction of biomass. The processing steps of this pathway include the conversion of biomass to synthesis gas via indirect gasification, gas clean‐up via reforming of tars and other hydrocarbons, catalytic conversion of syngas to methanol, methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether ( DME ), and the homologation of DME over a zeolite catalyst to high‐octane gasoline‐range hydrocarbon products. The current process configuration has similarities to conventional methanol‐to‐gasoline ( MTG ) technologies, but there are key distinctions, specifically regarding the product slate, catalysts, and reactor conditions. A techno‐economic analysis is performed to investigate the production of high‐octane gasoline blendstock. The design features a processing daily capacity of 2000 tonnes (2205 short tons) of dry biomass. The process yields 271 liters of liquid fuel per dry tonne of biomass (65 gal/dry ton), for an annual fuel production rate of 178 million liters (47 MM gal) at 90% on‐stream time. The estimated total capital investment for an n th ‐plant is $438 million. The resulting minimum fuel selling price ( MFSP ) is $0.86 per liter or $3.25 per gallon in 2011 US dollars. A rigorous sensitivity analysis captures uncertainties in costs and plant performance. Sustainability metrics for the conversion process are quantified and assessed. The potential premium value of the high‐octane gasoline blendstock is examined and found to be at least as competitive as fossil‐derived blendstocks. A simple blending strategy is proposed to demonstrate the potential for blending the biomass‐derived blendstock with petroleum‐derived intermediates. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA . Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Improve overall economics and sustainability of biofuels production by making the best use of byproducts from biomass pyrolytic processes towards energy utilities by leveraging locational consumers and available infrastructure.
Raw bio-oil produced from fast pyrolysis of pine woodchips was co-processed with standard Brazilian vacuum gasoil (VGO) and tested in a 200 kg⋅h−1 fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) demonstration-scale unit using a commercial FCC equilibrium catalyst. Two different bio-oil/VGO weight ratios were used: 5/95 and 10/90. Co-processing of raw bio-oil in FCC was shown to be technically feasible. Bio-oil could be directly co-processed with a regular gasoil FCC feed up to 10 wt%. The bio-oil and the conventional gasoil were cracked into valuable liquid products such as gasoline and diesel range products. Most of the oxygen present in the bio-oil was eliminated as water and carbon monoxide as these yields were always higher than that of carbon dioxide. Product quality analysis shows that trace oxygenates, primarily alkyl phenols, in FCC gasoline and diesel products are present with or without co-processing oxygenated intermediates. The oxygenate concentrations increase with co-processing, but have not resulted in increased concerns with quality of fuel properties. The presence of renewable carbon was confirmed in gasoline and diesel cuts through 14C isotopic analysis, showing that renewable carbon is not only being converted into coke, CO, and CO2, but also into valuable refining liquid products. Thus, gasoline and diesel could be produced from lignocellulosic raw materials through a conventional refining scheme, which uses the catalytic cracking process. The bio-oil renewable carbon conversion into liquid products (carbon efficiency) was approximately 30%, well above the efficiency found in literature for FCC bio-oil upgrading.
