Periodic Reporting for period 3 - IDEALFUEL (Lignin as a feedstock for renewable marine fuels)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-11-01 do 2024-04-30
The EU H2020 project IDEALFUEL aims to develop an efficient and low-cost chemical pathway to convert lignocellulosic biomass into a Biogenic Heavy Fuel Oil (Bio-HFO) with ultra-low sulphur levels that can be used as drop-in fuel in the existing maritime fleet.
Shipping is crucial for the transportation of goods around the world. However, the use of heavy fuel oils (HFOs) contributes to global warming due their fossil origin. This and local emissions, also lead to bans of the use of HFOs in the national waters of many countries. Although cleaner fuels are available, many companies opt for HFOs due to their low costs. Due to these environmental concerns and national as well as international regulations associated with fossil based HFOs, there is a considerable need for low-cost cleaner and renewable alternatives for the maritime sector. This is where the EU H2020 project IDEALFUEL comes into play, where methods to convert lignocellulosic biomass into renewable marine fuels (Bio-HFO) will be developed. This will be achieved by the strategy to first extract lignin from lignocellulosic biomass as a Crude Lignin Oil (CLO) and to convert the CLO - in a second chemical step - into a Bio-HFO. IDEALFUEL’s ambition is to develop new technologies, solutions and processes from the current lab-scale (TRL3) via bench-scale (TRL4) to pilot scale (TRL5) and to prove the performance and compatibility of the Bio-HFO over the whole blending range in maritime fuel systems and marine engines. This includes a safety evaluation, which is necessary for the approval by the relevant regulatory bodies. The overall project objectives are:
1. To develop and validate lignin oil extraction processes leading to CLO, C5 sugars (derived from lignin fraction or hemicellulose) and a solid cellulose fraction
2. To develop and validate a selective, low temperature and efficient hydrotreating / hydrodeoxygenation process for the CLO product fraction
3. To assess the compatibility of the Bio-HFO with existing fuel supply systems and engines
4. To define a blending strategy for hydrotreated CLO products
5. To develop process designs for regional/local extraction of Crude Lignin Oil from lignocellulosic biomass, separation of the cellulose and other fractions and processing (hydrotreating) of CLO in a central bio-refinery to a drop-in renewable Bio-HFO
6. To perform a Life Cycle Assessment on the supply and value chain to quantify the overall impact of the process(es) on the environment
7. To develop a blueprint for stepwise implementation of Bio-HFO in the shipping sector.
Shipping is crucial for the transportation of goods around the world. However, the use of heavy fuel oils (HFOs) contributes to global warming due their fossil origin. This and local emissions, also lead to bans of the use of HFOs in the national waters of many countries. Although cleaner fuels are available, many companies opt for HFOs due to their low costs. Due to these environmental concerns and national as well as international regulations associated with fossil based HFOs, there is a considerable need for low-cost cleaner and renewable alternatives for the maritime sector. This is where the EU H2020 project IDEALFUEL comes into play, where methods to convert lignocellulosic biomass into renewable marine fuels (Bio-HFO) will be developed. This will be achieved by the strategy to first extract lignin from lignocellulosic biomass as a Crude Lignin Oil (CLO) and to convert the CLO - in a second chemical step - into a Bio-HFO. IDEALFUEL’s ambition is to develop new technologies, solutions and processes from the current lab-scale (TRL3) via bench-scale (TRL4) to pilot scale (TRL5) and to prove the performance and compatibility of the Bio-HFO over the whole blending range in maritime fuel systems and marine engines. This includes a safety evaluation, which is necessary for the approval by the relevant regulatory bodies. The overall project objectives are:
1. To develop and validate lignin oil extraction processes leading to CLO, C5 sugars (derived from lignin fraction or hemicellulose) and a solid cellulose fraction
2. To develop and validate a selective, low temperature and efficient hydrotreating / hydrodeoxygenation process for the CLO product fraction
3. To assess the compatibility of the Bio-HFO with existing fuel supply systems and engines
4. To define a blending strategy for hydrotreated CLO products
5. To develop process designs for regional/local extraction of Crude Lignin Oil from lignocellulosic biomass, separation of the cellulose and other fractions and processing (hydrotreating) of CLO in a central bio-refinery to a drop-in renewable Bio-HFO
6. To perform a Life Cycle Assessment on the supply and value chain to quantify the overall impact of the process(es) on the environment
7. To develop a blueprint for stepwise implementation of Bio-HFO in the shipping sector.
The overall objectives show that IDEALFUEL project covers the whole value chain from production of the Bio-HFO to engine testing and technoeconomic assessments.
The major achievements have been on the production side of the Bio-HFO. For that essential measurement protocols have been developed for the determination of viscosity and oxygen content of CLO and Bio-HFO compositions across the different partners. The IDEALFUEL planned roadmap is to scale-up the production capacity from gram scale to tonnes scale within the lifetime of the project. This is a huge challenge, and the involved partners are on track, since the kg scale CLO production in 300 L reactor has been implemented. This kg-scale production emphasis on optimizing process efficiency, reproducibility and quality of finished product complied with marine fuel regulations. This information on a kg-scale is crucial to increase the production volume towards tonnes scale successfully. Also, a significant effort is going into the optimisation of lignin production, depolymerisation, design and implementation of workup processes to isolate oligomers. Here we achieved a production capacity of >10kg of Aldehyde-Assisted Fractionation (AAF) lignin and a depolymerisation of >1kg of lignin.
To convert CLO into Bio-HFO, a catalyst for an efficient hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process is being developed and tested. The first design principles for HDO catalysts tailored for sugar-free and sugar-containing methanol lignin oils have been established. Lab-scale research has also determined the optimal conditions for the HDO of softwood-derived, methanolic, and sugar-containing CLO using a commercial Ru/C catalyst.
Within the IDEALFUEL project, dedicated catalysts for Bio-HFO production are being tested. Initial results demonstrate that a high degree of CLO depolymerization via hydrotreating can be achieved under remarkably mild operating conditions. Project partners have adapted lab-scale testing to produce milliliter-range, solvent-free Bio-HFO products. These hydrotreating products exhibit significantly lower oxygen content than the starting lignin oil and meet acceptable viscosity specifications for HFO, making them suitable as drop-in fuels.
Regarding Bio-HFO material interaction, fuel stability, combustion, and engine testing, fuel analysis methods have been defined within IDEALFUEL. Current research efforts are focused on testing the defined baseline fuels. However, upscaling the technology has presented significant challenges due to the operating conditions required that cannot be achieved by various available reactors in Europe.
However, the project partners have modified their test benches to accommodate testing of both baseline fuels and newly developed Bio-HFO as a drop-in fuel. Preparations for Bio-HFO combustion testing and modeling have progressed as planned. Initially, IDEALFUEL aimed to evaluate Bio-HFO combustion performance across multiple scales, from fundamental fuel injection studies to testing in a large single-cylinder engine (based on a 2 MW WinGD X52 engine). However, due to the challenges in upscaling production, insufficient Bio-HFO was available for real engine testing. Instead, extensive CFD simulations “digital-twin” have been conducted to assess Bio-HFO performance in engine conditions.
Finally, the impact of various regulations and legislative aspects on Bio-HFO market introduction has been assessed, with a particular focus on constraints within Europe and the European Economic Area, including Scandinavia.
The major achievements have been on the production side of the Bio-HFO. For that essential measurement protocols have been developed for the determination of viscosity and oxygen content of CLO and Bio-HFO compositions across the different partners. The IDEALFUEL planned roadmap is to scale-up the production capacity from gram scale to tonnes scale within the lifetime of the project. This is a huge challenge, and the involved partners are on track, since the kg scale CLO production in 300 L reactor has been implemented. This kg-scale production emphasis on optimizing process efficiency, reproducibility and quality of finished product complied with marine fuel regulations. This information on a kg-scale is crucial to increase the production volume towards tonnes scale successfully. Also, a significant effort is going into the optimisation of lignin production, depolymerisation, design and implementation of workup processes to isolate oligomers. Here we achieved a production capacity of >10kg of Aldehyde-Assisted Fractionation (AAF) lignin and a depolymerisation of >1kg of lignin.
To convert CLO into Bio-HFO, a catalyst for an efficient hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process is being developed and tested. The first design principles for HDO catalysts tailored for sugar-free and sugar-containing methanol lignin oils have been established. Lab-scale research has also determined the optimal conditions for the HDO of softwood-derived, methanolic, and sugar-containing CLO using a commercial Ru/C catalyst.
Within the IDEALFUEL project, dedicated catalysts for Bio-HFO production are being tested. Initial results demonstrate that a high degree of CLO depolymerization via hydrotreating can be achieved under remarkably mild operating conditions. Project partners have adapted lab-scale testing to produce milliliter-range, solvent-free Bio-HFO products. These hydrotreating products exhibit significantly lower oxygen content than the starting lignin oil and meet acceptable viscosity specifications for HFO, making them suitable as drop-in fuels.
Regarding Bio-HFO material interaction, fuel stability, combustion, and engine testing, fuel analysis methods have been defined within IDEALFUEL. Current research efforts are focused on testing the defined baseline fuels. However, upscaling the technology has presented significant challenges due to the operating conditions required that cannot be achieved by various available reactors in Europe.
However, the project partners have modified their test benches to accommodate testing of both baseline fuels and newly developed Bio-HFO as a drop-in fuel. Preparations for Bio-HFO combustion testing and modeling have progressed as planned. Initially, IDEALFUEL aimed to evaluate Bio-HFO combustion performance across multiple scales, from fundamental fuel injection studies to testing in a large single-cylinder engine (based on a 2 MW WinGD X52 engine). However, due to the challenges in upscaling production, insufficient Bio-HFO was available for real engine testing. Instead, extensive CFD simulations “digital-twin” have been conducted to assess Bio-HFO performance in engine conditions.
Finally, the impact of various regulations and legislative aspects on Bio-HFO market introduction has been assessed, with a particular focus on constraints within Europe and the European Economic Area, including Scandinavia.
The IDEALFUEL strategy for delivering an efficient and low-cost chemical pathway to convert lignocellulosic biomass into a Bio-HFO with ultra-low sulphur levels that can be used as drop-in fuel in the existing maritime fleet has a tremendous potential for the widespread adoption of the project fuel by the marine fuel sector. The IDEALFUEL consortium impacts aim that was set at the beginning of the project:
• developing efficient chemical processes to produce the fuel from biomass;
• producing a drop-in fuel that is low in cost;
• producing a fuel that can be used by the current marine fleet;
• significantly reducing the overall GHG emissions associated to the marine transport;
• significantly reducing pollution;
• sparking job growth within the renewable energy sector.
Unfortunately, due to the limited availability of Bio-HFO, not all claims could be fully validated across the entire value chain, from production to exploitation. This has hindered the ability to demonstrate the performance of the developed Bio-HFO, making it challenging to facilitate its broader adoption and replication of the technological solutions.
• developing efficient chemical processes to produce the fuel from biomass;
• producing a drop-in fuel that is low in cost;
• producing a fuel that can be used by the current marine fleet;
• significantly reducing the overall GHG emissions associated to the marine transport;
• significantly reducing pollution;
• sparking job growth within the renewable energy sector.
Unfortunately, due to the limited availability of Bio-HFO, not all claims could be fully validated across the entire value chain, from production to exploitation. This has hindered the ability to demonstrate the performance of the developed Bio-HFO, making it challenging to facilitate its broader adoption and replication of the technological solutions.