Production of renewable aviation fuel range alkanes from algae oil

RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (18) ◽  
pp. 14626-14634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dharshini D. Bala ◽  
Dev Chidambaram

Jet fuels produced from sources other than petroleum are receiving considerable attention since they offer the potential to diversify energy supplies while mitigating the net environmental impact of aviation.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 4644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Stanton ◽  
Richard R. Gustafson

A bioenergy summit was organized by Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest (AHB) to debate the barriers to the commercialization of a hybrid poplar biofuels industry for the alternative jet fuels market from the perspective of five years of AHB research and development and two recent surveys of the North American cellulosic biofuels industry. The summit showed that: (1) Growing and converting poplar feedstock to aviation fuels is technically sound, (2) an adequate land base encompassing 6.03 and 12.86 million respective hectares of croplands and rangelands is potentially available for poplar feedstock production, (3) biofuel production is accompanied by a global warming potential that meets the threshold 60% reduction mandated for advanced renewable fuels but (4) the main obstruction to achieving a workable poplar aviation fuels market is making the price competitive with conventional jet fuels. Returns on investment into biomass farms and biorefineries are therefore insufficient to attract private-sector capital the fact notwithstanding that the demand for a reliable and sustainable supply of environmentally well-graded biofuels for civilian and military aviation is clear. Eleven key findings and recommendations are presented as a guide to a strategic plan for a renewed pathway to poplar alternative jet fuels production based upon co-products, refinery co-location with existing industries, monetization of ecosystem services, public-private financing, and researching more efficient and lower-costs conversion methods such as consolidated bioprocessing.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyungwook Min ◽  
Daniel Valco ◽  
Anna Oldani ◽  
Tonghun Lee

Ignition delay of category A and C alternative aviation fuels have been investigated using a rapid compression machine (RCM). Newly introduced alternative jet fuels are not yet comprehensively understood in their combustion characteristics. Two of the category C fuels that will be primarily investigated in this study are Amyris Farnesane and Gevo Jet Fuel Blend. Amyris direct sugar to hydrocarbon (DSHC) fuel (POSF 10370) come from direct fermentation of bio feedstock sugar. Amyris DSHC is mainly composed of 2,6,10-trymethly dodecane, or farnesane. Gevo jet blend stock fuel is alcohol to jet (ATJ) fuel (POSF 10262) produced from bio derived butanol. Gevo jet blend stock is composed with iso-dodecane and iso-cetane, and has significantly low derived cetane number of 15. The experimental results are compared to combustion characteristics of conventional jet A fuels, including JP-8. Ignition delay, the important factor of auto ignition characteristic, is evaluated from pressure trace measured from the RCM at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The measurements are made at compressed pressure 20bar, intermediate and low compressed temperature, and equivalence ratio of unity and below. Direct test chamber charge method is used due to its reliable reproducibility of results. Compared to category A fuels, different combustion characteristics has been observed from category C fuels due to their irregular chemical composition.


Author(s):  
Greg Pucher ◽  
William Allan ◽  
Pierre Poitras

The synthetic fuel industry is poised to experience large-scale growth and profoundly affect current aviation fuel infrastructure. New candidate technologies, such as Camelina oil-derived synthetic fuel have been demonstrated to not only provide satisfactory quasi drop-in characteristics for conventional fuels, but in life cycle analysis studies have also been shown to potentially offer positive improvements relative to conventional feedstocks with respect to economic, environmental, and land use considerations. As part of a multiyear study at the Royal Military College of Canada to evaluate combustion related parameters of fuel additives and alternative fuels for gas turbine applications, a Camelina-derived synthetic fuel blend was assessed to determine potential combustion related benefits as compared to conventional and other synthetic blends. The Combustion Chamber Sector Rig (CCSR) which houses a Rolls Royce T-56-A-15 combustion section was utilized for the evaluation of emissions and deposits. Following combustion testing, several combustion system components, including the combustion chamber, fuel nozzle, and igniter plug were analyzed for relative levels of deposit build-up. As with other Fischer Tropsch derived synthetic fuels, there were positive benefits found with Camelina blends in terms of emissions performance and deposit production tendencies.


Author(s):  
Ida Shafagh ◽  
Kevin J. Hughes ◽  
Elena Catalanotti ◽  
Zhen Liu ◽  
Mohamed Pourkashanian ◽  
...  

Jet fuels currently in use in the aviation industry are exclusively kerosene-based. However, potential problems regarding security of supply, climate change, and increasing cost are becoming more significant, exacerbated by the rapidly growing demand from the aviation sector. Biofuels are considered one of the most suitable alternatives to petrochemical-based fuels in the aviation industry in the short to medium term, since blends of biofuel and kerosene provide a good balance of properties currently required from an aviation fuel. Experimental studies at a variety of stoichiometries using a flat flame burner with kerosene and kerosene/biofuel blends have been performed with product analysis by gas sampling and laser-induced fluorescence detection of OH, CO, and CO2. These studies have been complemented by modeling using the PREMIX module of Chemkin to provide insights into and to validate combined models describing the oxidation chemistry of surrogate fuels depicting kerosene, fatty acid methyl ester biofuels, and Fischer-Tropsch derived fuels. Sensitivity analysis has identified important reactions within these schemes, which, where appropriate, have been investigated by molecular modeling techniques available within Gaussian 03.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 6999-7006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhisa Murata ◽  
Yanyong Liu ◽  
Makoto M. Watanabe ◽  
Megumu Inaba ◽  
Isao Takahara
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina M. Geiselman ◽  
James Kirby ◽  
Alexander Landera ◽  
Peter Otoupal ◽  
Gabriella Papa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In an effort to ensure future energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create domestic jobs, the US has invested in technologies to develop sustainable biofuels and bioproducts from renewable carbon sources such as lignocellulosic biomass. Bio-derived jet fuel is of particular interest as aviation is less amenable to electrification compared to other modes of transportation and synthetic biology provides the ability to tailor fuel properties to enhance performance. Specific energy and energy density are important properties in determining the attractiveness of potential bio-derived jet fuels. For example, increased energy content can give the industry options such as longer range, higher load or reduced takeoff weight. Energy-dense sesquiterpenes have been identified as potential next-generation jet fuels that can be renewably produced from lignocellulosic biomass. Results We developed a biomass deconstruction and conversion process that enabled the production of two tricyclic sesquiterpenes, epi-isozizaene and prespatane, from the woody biomass poplar using the versatile basidiomycete Rhodosporidium toruloides. We demonstrated terpene production at both bench and bioreactor scales, with prespatane titers reaching 1173.6 mg/L when grown in poplar hydrolysate in a 2 L bioreactor. Additionally, we examined the theoretical fuel properties of prespatane and epi-isozizaene in their hydrogenated states as blending options for jet fuel, and compared them to aviation fuel, Jet A. Conclusion Our findings indicate that prespatane and epi-isozizaene in their hydrogenated states would be attractive blending options in Jet A or other lower density renewable jet fuels as they would improve viscosity and increase their energy density. Saturated epi-isozizaene and saturated prespatane have energy densities that are 16.6 and 18.8% higher than Jet A, respectively. These results highlight the potential of R. toruloides as a production host for the sustainable and scalable production of bio-derived jet fuel blends, and this is the first report of prespatane as an alternative jet fuel.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel C. Corbin ◽  
Tobias Schripp ◽  
Bruce E. Anderson ◽  
Greg J. Smallwood ◽  
Patrick LeClercq ◽  
...  

Abstract. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) have different compositions compared to conventional petroleum jet fuels, particularly in terms of fuel sulphur and hydrocarbon content. These differences may change the amount and physicochemical properties of volatile and non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) emitted by aircraft engines. In this study, we evaluate whether comparable nvPM measurement techniques respond similarly to nvPM produced by three blends of SAFs compared to three conventional fuels. Multiple SAF blends and conventional (Jet A-1) jet fuels were combusted in a V2527-A5 engine, while an additional conventional fuel (JP-8) was combusted in a CFM56-2C1 engine. We evaluated nvPM mass concentration measured by three real-time sampling techniques: photoacoustic spectroscopy, laser-induced incandescence, and the extinction-minus-scattering technique. Various commercial instruments were tested including three LII 300s, one PAX, one MSS+, and two CAPS PMSSA. Mass-based emission indices (EIm) reported by these techniques were similar, falling within 30 % of their geometric mean for EIm above 100 mg/kgfuel (approximately 10 μg PM m−3 at the instrument), this geometric mean was therefore used as a reference value. Additionally, two integrative measurement techniques were evaluated: filter photometry and particle size distribution (PSD) integration. The commercial instruments used were one TAP, one PSAP, and two SMPSs. These techniques are used in specific applications, such as on-board research aircraft to determine PM emissions at cruise. EIm reported by the alternative techniques fell within approximately 50 % of the mean aerosol-phase EIm. In addition, we measured PM-number-based emissions indices using PSDs and condensation particle counters. The commercial instruments used included TSI SMPSs, a Cambustion DMS500, and an AVL APC, and the data also fell within approximately 50 % of their geometric mean. The number-based emission indices were highly sensitive to the accuracy of the sampling-line penetration functions applied as corrections. In contrast, the EIm data were less sensitive to those corrections since a smaller volume fraction fell within the size range where corrections were substantial. A separate, dedicated experiment also showed that the operating laser fluence used in the LII 300 laser-induced incandescence instrument for aircraft engine nvPM measurement is adequate for a range of SAF blends investigated in this study. Overall, we conclude that all tested instruments are suitable for the measurement of nvPM emissions from the combustion of SAF blends in aircraft engines.


Author(s):  
E. Grant Jones ◽  
Walter J. Balster ◽  
Lori M. Balster

Surface fouling in aircraft fuel lines resulting from autoxidation of aviation fuel leads to reduced efficiency as deposits collect on heat exchangers, nozzles, and servocontrols and may ultimately lead to system failure. Metal surfaces and trace quantities of metals dissolved in the fuel exacerbate the surface-fouling problem because they can catalyze free-radical initiation, thereby accelerating autoxidation. Additives and additive packages containing antioxidants, dispersants, and metal deactivators (MDA) have been shown to reduce insolubles in some fuels. Because of metal chelation and possible metal-surface passivation, MDA has been proposed as an additive component to be included in all fuels, even those without dissolved metals. The goal of the present study was to obtain fundamental information on the behavior of MDA under conditions where surface-passivation effects are minimal. Experiments have been conducted to 1) study the effects of adding MDA to fuels containing a significant concentration of dissolved metals (i.e., chelation) and to those containing minor concentrations of dissolved metals and 2) investigate interactions when MDA is used in conjunction with an antioxidant and a dispersant. Simple fuel-line-fouling simulations with a single-pass tubular heat exchanger operated under near-isothermal conditions have been conducted to study the thermal behavior at 185°C of several neat and MDA-treated jet fuels as well as fuels treated with MDA plus other additives. Comparison of neat and treated fuels is based on several criteria: 1) dependence of autoxidation on stress duration, 2) dependence of surface deposition on stress duration, and 3) quantity of total insolubles (bulk filterables and surface deposits). Potential advantages and disadvantages of using MDA alone and in combination are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 332 ◽  
pp. 115-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanyong Liu ◽  
Kazuhisa Murata ◽  
Megumu Inaba

Aviation industry is one of the main contributors and fastest-growing sectors in the world economy. Fuel consumption from this industry is one of the major issues that have drawn the attention of both professionals and researchers in recent years. The high dependency along with the high consumption of aviation fuel on petroleum plays a crucial role in environmental degradation due to increased carbon dioxide and other emissions, as well as in the increasing rate of fossil fuel depletion. Therefore, various potential technologies have been developed and further investigated to produce alternative aviation fuels, especially biofuels. In this article, principles, sustainability, and main concerns of different alternative aviation fuel processing technologies, with some focus on biofuels, are discussed in challenges and possible remedies. The major ecological problems connected with the application of conventional jet fuels in contrast to The advantages of biofuels implementation in the aviation industry are also highlighted. This work is aimed to show the state of the art of current alternative aviation fuels, their production technologies, and the potentiality of replacing the conventional jet fuel.


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