Audi is testing alternative gasoline produced from biomass by Global Bioenergies and Fraunhofer CBP
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
The German carmaker Audi is working with Global Bioenergies and the Fraunhofer Center for
Chemical-Biotechnological Processes (Fraunhofer CBP) to develop an alternative
gasoline as a contribution to reduce the automotive carbon footprint. The “e-benzin”
(e-gasoline), as they call it themselves, is a liquid isooctane that is
currently produced from biomass in a two-step process. In the first step,
Global Bioenergies produces gaseous isobutene (C4H8). In
the second step, Fraunhofer CBP uses hydrogen to transform the isobutene into
isooctane (C8H18). The final product is a high-purity
synthetic fuel free of sulfur and benzene, therefore, it is especially low in
pollutants when it burns. Also, its good anti-knock properties offer the
possibility to further increase engine compression and boost efficiency.
The partnership has just announced that a key
milestone was reached in their multi-year agreement (see Audi
press release, 9/3/2018, and Global
Bionergies press release, 8/3/2018). Using its Leuna
Demo Plant, Global Bioenergies has produced high-purity renewable
isobutene, which was further converted by Fraunhofer CBP into high-performance
gasoline components including isooctane, ETBE and isododecane. Audi engineers
are now examining the combustion and emission behavior of the renewable fuel in
a test engine.
Figure 1. Fraunhofer Center for
Chemical-Biotechnological Processes in Leuna (extracted from its website)
Currently, a small part of Global Bioenergies’ ton
scale isobutene production is directed toward e-benzin, using Fraunhofer’s lab
scale conversion unit. From the e-benzin produced, a batch of 60 litres was
delivered to Audi. The production capacity will be significantly increased in
2019 with the addition to the Leuna Demo Plant of a dedicated renewable
gasoline production unit.
