Vertimass will receive 1.4 M$ to optimize its biojet production technology

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Type of post: NEWS.

Vertimass LLC has been selected by U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO) to receive up to 1.4 M$ award to optimize renewable jet fuel production. The cooperative agreement would aid Vertimass in its mission to commercialize a “green” catalyst technology that converts ethanol into a renewable jet fuel compatible with the current infrastructure.
Press release: “Vertimass Selected by U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office to Receive Up to $1.4 Million Award to Optimize Renewable Jet Fuel”, 7/11/2019.
Related post: “Alcohol-To-Fuel”, 2/7/2018.

Figure 1. Vertimass solution

The technology

Coupling an exclusive worldwide license to catalyst technology patented by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with significant developments by Vertimass provides a powerful platform that can open up the jet fuel market for ethanol. The project focuses on maximizing specific hydrocarbon products that provide high energy density while reducing particulate emissions associated with conventional fossil-derived jet fuels. Vertimass is joined in this project by a strong team comprised of the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), TechnipFMC and the University of California, Riverside (UCR).

This technology can also convert a range of other alcohol feedstocks such as methanol, propanol and butanol into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel blendstocks as well as produce benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) that have valuable chemical markets.

The benefits of the catalytic process include:
- Single step conversion of ethanol into hydrocarbon blendstocks without hydrogen addition.
- The ability to process between 5% and 100% ethanol in water.
- Production of minimal amounts of light gases.
- Operation at relatively low temperature and near atmospheric pressure.
- The ability to shift product distribution in response to market demands.

The market

This technology is expected to allow expansion of the liquid biofuels market beyond current constraints. According to the press release, existing US ethanol production plants currently have the capacity to produce approximately 16 billion gallons per year, a level that saturates current use as 10% blends with gasoline. The Vertimass catalyst breaks that barrier by producing a hydrocarbon that can be blended at much higher levels. In addition, while ethanol has been traditionally considered too low in energy density for use as a jet fuel, the Vertimass catalyst can overcome that issue. Initial tests indicate its fuels are compatible for blending with gasoline, diesel and jet fuels with no engine modifications, but further tests are underway for ASTM certification.

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