SYNTHETIC PARAFFINICJET FUEL
Ramin Abhari, P.E.Senior Process EngineerSyntroleum Corporation
A bright spot in recent alternative fuel news…
A-10 Thunderbolt synthetic fuel flight; March 25, 2010
F/A-18 synthetic fuel flight; April 28, 2010
C-17 synthetic fuel flight;Oct. 22, 2007
B-52 synthetic fuel flight; Sept. 26, 2006
What’s up with all the synthetic fuel flight tests?
DoD intends to catalyze commercial industry to produce clean fuels for the military from secure domestic resources using environmentally sensitive process as a bridge to the future
- Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
By 2016, 50% of all fuel for the continental U.S. fleet will be purchased domestically from alternate sources
- Air Force Policy Document 90-17
What is synthetic jet fuel…and how is it made?
Same components as petroleum jet fuel…
…except for the “bad” and the “ugly”
”The good,
the bad,
and theugly!”
Petro Synthetics
Two ways tosynthetic paraffinic jet fuel
1. Low Temperature Fischer-Tropsch
2 C + ½ O2 + H2O à CO + 2 H2 + CO2
CO + 2 H2 + CO2 à –[CH2]n– + H2O + CO2
Gasification:Carbon to syngas
Fischer-Tropsch:Syngas to n-paraffins
Carbon Feedstock:· Coal (~80% C)· Woody biomass (~50% C)
–[CH2]n– + H2 à +–[CH(CH2)]n-m–
+ –[CH2]m–
Hydrocracking:n-paraffins to shorter n- and iso-paraffins
Synthetic Jet Fuel to Distillation and Shipping
2. Hydroprocessing of Fats and Oils
C17H33COOH + 4 H2 à C18H38 + H2O
C18H38 + H2 à n-C9H20 + i-C9H20
Liquid Biomass Feed:· Fats/Oils/Greases· Algae oils
Synthetic Jet Fuel to Distillation and Shipping
Hydrocracking:n-paraffins to shorter n- and iso-paraffins
Hydrodeoxygenation:Fatty acid/glycerides to n-paraffins
5 10 15 20 25 30Time-->
5163 R-8
4909 S-8
Weight % n-Paraffins
C7-C9 C10-C13 C14-C16 C17-C19
5163 3.0 7.8 1.7 0.0634909 4.1 10.8 2.2 0.10
C11C12
C13
C14 C15 C16 C17 C18
C10C9
C8C7
C19
5 10 15 20 25 30Time-->
5163 R-8
4909 S-8
Weight % n-Paraffins
C7-C9 C10-C13 C14-C16 C17-C19
5163 3.0 7.8 1.7 0.0634909 4.1 10.8 2.2 0.10
Weight % n-Paraffins
C7-C9 C10-C13 C14-C16 C17-C19
5163 3.0 7.8 1.7 0.0634909 4.1 10.8 2.2 0.10
C11C12
C13
C14 C15 C16 C17 C18
C10C9
C8C7
C19
C11C12
C13
C14 C15 C16 C17 C18
C10C9
C8C7
C19
Same fuel from both processes
Hydro-processed Renewable Jet (HRJ
or Bio-SPK)
Fischer Tropsch (FT or SPK)
Feedstock
Process
Synthetic Jet Fuel
How does synthetic jet fuel perform?
Three key performance advantages
2. Lower Emissions
JP-8 R-8 50/50 R-80
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
IdleCruise
Em
issio
n I
nd
ex (
1E1
5 p
ar-
ticle
s/k
g f
uel)
1. Lower Emissions
2. Better Low Temperature Performance
Synthetic
3. Less carbon deposit in fuel system
Fuel Description
15-Hr Mass Accumulation (μg/cm2)
R-8 (Syntroleum HRJ)
0.3
S-8 (Syntroleum FT)
0.4
JP-8 3.0
Dynamic Fuels Renewable Synthetic Fuels Plant (Geismar, LA) starting up in 2010
Summary
Strong interest by military and commercial purchasers
Superior fuel properties Two processes, abundant
feedstocks First domestic plant starting up
in 2010