PNNL is working with Seattle biofuel producer Imperium Renewables to develop a new method to make bio-based jet fuels. Photo: Davipt. |
Seattle biofuel producer
Imperium Renewables and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL) are developing a new method to make biomass-based drop-in jet
fuels so that additional renewable jet fuel production facilities can be built
in the Pacific Northwest. So far, their novel
process has produced a meaningful amount of fuel that is being evaluated to
determine how well it can blend with traditional, petroleum-based jet fuel.
The method uses a catalytic process being developed at PNNL
that converts biomass-based alcohols into renewable drop-in jet fuels. Imperium
entered into the project in July 2010 through a collaborative research
agreement with Battelle, the nonprofit research organization that manages PNNL
for DOE.
“This grant will help us provide sustainable,
economically viable drop-in biofuels that will allow the Department of Defense
and the airline industry to become less reliant on foreign oil,” says Imperium CEO John Plaza.
“Imperium is excited to be part of this partnership and to continue our
work with LanzaTech, Boeing, and PNNL to develop renewable jet fuels from
multiple feed stocks.”
The joint project started with an economic analysis to
ensure the method could be financially viable when it’s fully developed. In the
lab, research has advanced to the bench scale. The ultimate goal is to use the
process at a commercial plant such as Imperium’s Grays Harbor biodiesel
refinery near Hoquiam, Wash.
This work will be further developed as part of a recent
award from the Department of Energy towards a new biofuel research project led
by LanzaTech of Roselle, Ill. The award leverages approximately $5 million to
the integrated technology which aims to develop a cost-effective technology to
produce renewable drop-in jet fuel blendstock and bio-based products by
employing biotechnology and catalysis. DOE is providing up to $4 million for
the project, about $2 million of which is going to PNNL.
“We’re excited to continue to contribute to the
nation’s biofuel efforts through this project and look forward to collaborating
with LanzaTech and Imperium,” says John Holladay of PNNL.
“We are extremely pleased with the leadership that the
President, the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, and the Navy have shown by
several strong commitments towards the development of advanced biofuels to the
aviation industry in the recent months,” says Plaza. “This award and
our resulting success will provide additional drop-in fuels to help meet our
nation’s aviation fuel needs.”
LanzaTech is developing the first half of the process, which
coverts biomass to intermediates such as alcohols, while PNNL is working with
Imperium to convert the alcohols produced by LanzaTech into a renewable drop-in
jet fuel that works in today’s existing aircraft. Imperium is also providing
in-kind contributions for PNNL’s research and is funding related research at
the University of Delaware and Michigan Technological
University.
Other partners in the new project are the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, Orochem Technologies, and The Boeing Company, with support
from The Port of Seattle.
