Biomass gasoline S ome companies are avoiding ethanol altogether in a quest to produce drop-in synthetic hydrocarbon transportation fuels (like gasoline) from biomass. In this process, finely ground biomass is rapidly decom- posed under high temperatures to yield pyrolysis oil and other products. The pyrolysis oil is then upgraded and refined to make synthetic gaso- line, diesel, and jet fuel. This upgrading and refining technology is cur- rently being developed and improved by various industry players. Envergent Technologies, headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, is a new joint venture of Ensyn and UOP. The company has demonstrated that pyrolysis oil produced using Ensyn’s pyrolysis technology can be further upgraded to transportation fuels using UOP’s hydroprocessing technology. It claims that the process produces gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels that are virtually indistinguishable from their petroleum-based counterparts. The process has been demonstrated in the laboratory, and the company is developing commercial-scale technology that it anticipates could be available for licensing in 2012. Dynamotive Energy Systems, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, also uses a hydro-reforming process to upgrade its pyrolysis oil to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. In a recent press release, it states that independent and internal analyses of its stage 2 upgraded pyrolysis oil indicate that the mixture contains components similar to a crude oil fraction, with distillation fractions of approximately 20% gasoline, 30% jet, 30% diesel, and 20% vacuum gasoil by weight. Construction of a pilot plant may begin in late 2009, pending financing. – Heather Hager that the feedstock that enters the gasifier is in small enough pieces and at less than 25% moisture content. This flexibility is what could bring Enerkem to municipalities throughout Canada. In regions that have too little MSW available to operate a plant at capacity, the plant could also use locally available forestry or agricultural biomass. “The key is to secure a stable supply of feedstock,” says Labrie. Before in- vesting, Enerkem requires a long-term agreement that indicates how much feedstock it will receive and how much money it will get for taking it. foR the futuRe Enerkem is ready to go big. “We want to have multiple facilities built every year,” says Arguin, without further revealing company objec- tives. He says that the current workforce of 56 employees is up to the challenge of managing exponential growth. Financing so far has come in the form of private funds from com- pany management, government subsidies, and venture capital (Rho Ventures and Braemar Energy Ventures of the United States, and Canada’s BDR Capital). Partnerships are sought for new projects, but Enerkem wants to own and operate all new facilities. “We are not selling our technology,” says Arguin. Enerkem is already a world leader in second-generation biofuel generation, says Labrie. No one has been eyeing MSW as a feedstock for ethanol production for as long as Esteban Chornet has. Now, Enerkem is going commercial and it’s getting paid both for taking the feedstock and for making ethanol out of it, says Labrie. “The world is watching us!” • 14 CanadianBIOMASS AUGUST 2009
Canadian Biomass August 2009: Page 14
