Understanding the role of Fischer–Tropsch reaction kinetics in techno-economic analysis for co-conversion of natural gas and biomass to liquid transportation fuels

Sahir, Asad H.; Zhang, Yanan; Tan, Eric C.  D.; Tao, Ling

doi:10.1002/bbb.2035

Title: Understanding the role of Fischer–Tropsch reaction kinetics in techno-economic analysis for co-conversion of natural gas and biomass to liquid transportation fuels

Journal Article · Mon Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2035· OSTI ID:1547249

^[1]; Zhang, Yanan ^[1];

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National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). Biorefinery Analysis and Exploratory Research, National Bioenergy Center

With the increased availability of low-cost natural gas, the co-conversion of natural gas and biomass-to-liquid fuels has attracted attention from industry due to its potential for improving liquid fuel yields while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we provide an understanding of Fischer-Tropsch kinetics, improvements in processing strategies for hydrocarbon production, and of its impact on cost for the co-conversion of natural gas and biomass-to-transportation fuels. Studies that investigate the effect of Fischer-Tropsch reaction kinetics on techno-economic analysis can be used to develop process models that consider reaction stoichiometry and account for the effect of the paraffin-to-olefin ratio. We consider two processing scenarios: (1) one that does not employ a hydrocracker, and (2) the other where a hydrocracker serves as an integral part of the process scheme. Our analysis shows that co-processing natural gas not only facilitates the economic benefits of converting biomass-to-liquid fuels but also facilitates flexibility in process integration. The resulting minimum fuel selling price ranged from $2.47-$3.47/GGE (gallon gasoline equivalent) without the hydrocracker and ranged from $2.17-$3.60/GGE with the inclusion of the hydrocracker, for a 50 million GGE hydrocarbon fuel production facility and for varying blending ratios for biomass from 0-100% with natural gas. The hydrocracker helps to increase the production of diesel and jet fuels substantially, with carbon efficiencies of 50% attained for a chain growth probability of 0.87. The cost penalty comes from the capital expenses of the hydrocracker, and the expense may not be offset with hydrocarbon yield improvement.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; AC36‐08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1547249

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1543360

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5100-72752

Journal Information:: Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, Vol. 13, Issue 5; ISSN 1932-104X

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 6 works

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