Formate‐assisted pyrolysis of biomass: an economic and modeling analysis

Abstract

An economic analysis was performed to determine the economic potential and commercialization barriers of producing renewable gasoline and diesel (RGD) fuel blendstocks via formate‐assisted pyrolysis (FAsP) followed by hydrodeoxygenation processes. A process model was simulated using Aspen Plus® to estimate material and energy balances for the conversion of 2000 dry MT per day of pine sawdust. Scenarios were considered for the regeneration of formate salts from either ‐biomass‐derived and natural‐gas‐derived carbon monoxide. The material and energy balances were used to calculate capital and operating costs of RGD fuel production. An economic model was built using capital and operating costs to estimate the minimum selling price (MSP) of RGD fuel. The MSP of RGD fuels were estimated at $4.58 per gallon of gasoline equivalent (GGE) and $4.80 per GGE for natural gas and biomass‐derived CO scenarios, respectively. The total capital investments of these plants were $448 million and $497 million. The feedstock cost was found to be the major cost contributor to the MSP of RGD fuel. Improving FAsP process yields will significantly reduce the production cost of RGD fuel. It has been learned that an increase in deoxygenation of bio‐oil in pyrolysis reactor decreases the capital and operating costs of bio‐oil upgrading to RGD fuel. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Production of Partially Deoxygenated Pyrolysis Oil from Switchgrass via Ca(OH)2, CaO, and Ca(COOH)2 Cofeeding

“…Furthermore, calcining CaCO 3 requires temperatures above 800 °C and, therefore, requires a calciner built from thermally stable materials and the availability of a high-temperature heat source (>1000 °C) to drive the reactions. It is also known that regeneration of CaCO 3 to CaO can quickly change the microstructure of those compounds, requiring frequent make-up. − These challenges must be accounted for in a technical-economic analysis …”

Intensification of Biomass Thermal Deoxygenation via a Two-Stage Process

“…Further, Case et al correlated calcium with deoxygenation activity during fast pyrolysis attributed to its ability to induce a reducing environment by sequestering CO 2 . Calcium also benefits from existing lime-cycle infrastructure within legacy bioprocessing facilities improving the thermal deoxygenation process techno-economics according to the analyses conducted separately by Gunukula et al, Carrasco et al, and AlMohamadi et al − …”

Fast Pyrolysis of Lignin Pretreated with Magnesium Formate and Magnesium Hydroxide

“…The pyrolysis byproduct for calcium pretreatment would be calcium carbonate, whereas the magnesium salt byproduct would be magnesium oxide or carbonate. Regeneration of calcium carbonate back to the hydroxide is more energy intensive than the respective magnesium salt regeneration [17]. Therefore, if magnesium salts show similar activity to those that have been observed with calcium, it they may offer an economic advantage in developing a commercial process.…”