Advanced Biofuels and Biorefinery Research at CanmetENERGY-Ottawa Fernando Preto CanmetENERGY-Ottawa, NRCan
About CanmetENERGY CanmetENERGY is the science and technology branch of Natural Resources Canada and operates three labs across Canada with over 450 scientists, engineers and technicians The Bioenergy Program at CanmetENERGY-Ottawa assists industry to develop cleaner, more energy-efficient biomass conversion processes
3 CanmetENERGY-Ottawa (CE-O) The focus of our collaborative R&D is to identify and develop new biorefinery product opportunities and overcome barriers to implementation We strive to assist Canadian industry in developing dynamic bio-refineries capable of providing clean and economic bioenergy and bio-products from Canada s vast renewable biomass resources We have biomass conversion (pre-treatment, combustion, torrefaction, gasification, pyrolysis) expertise and facilities for production of high value products from underutilized residues
CFS / CanmetENERGY / FPInnovations Partnership Bio-power Bio-chemicals Bio-fuels
Forest Biorefinery Opportunities 5 RNG
CE-O Biorefinery Activities TOOLS FOR SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF BIOREFINERY PROCESSES assists mills considering bolt-on technologies (e.g., gasification and pyrolysis) PRODUCTION OF BIOJET FUELS FROM WOODY BIOMASS- DERIVED BIO-OILS to assist the aviation sector in reducing its carbon footprint RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS (RNG) PILOT FACILITIES to diversify Canadas s energy portfolio while reducing GHG and making use of existing infrastructure FEEDSTOCK AND VALUE-ADDED PRODUCT OPPORTUNITIES to expand the range of feedstocks suitable for biorefinery processes
Bolt-On Applications Maximize Use of Existing Assets and Infrastructure 7 Project: Pyrolysis Liquids for Immediate Heat and Power Applications Opportunity: Low entry barrier bolt-on processes with clear pathway to diversification for high value products Key Considerations: Fast pyrolysis is a commercial process for upgrading low value residues, however direct utilization requires further development Results: Data on bio-oil fuel property variation due to feedstock; combustion (equipment and conditions) requirements; partnerships with suppliers (e.g. Ensyn) Impact on client: Enabling introduction/ integration of pyrolysis into existing forestry operations
Pyrolysis Oil Burner Performance (bio-oil from Pulp Mill D feedstock) No. 2 heating fuel No. 2 / Bio-oil emulsion
Operation Of Internal Combustion Engines On Raw Pyrolysis Oil Power Tech PT-8000 diesel generator with Kubota D1105 engine (1.1 liter, 3 cylinder, IDI) run on pyrolysis oil blend Joint Research with National Research Council Mechanical Engineering Engine Lab 1 1: NRC Canada Researchers: Ashwani Kumar, Stuart Neil, Sean Yun
10 Bio-oil Separation and Extraction Key Considerations: Cost-effective processes for high value chemicals must have a target market and must be produced in economically significant quantities Impact: High value product opportunities
11 Aviation Industry GHG Goals Ref: IRENA, Biofuels For Aviation, 2017
Biojet Pathways Analysis (Greet 2016 Analysis by Argonne National Lab) 12
13 Biofuels: Thermochemical Routes Ref: IRENA, Biofuels For Aviation, 2017
CEO-O: Fast Pyrolysis + Bio-crude Upgrading 5-10 kg/h fluidized bed fast pyrolysis facility 1-3 kg/h catalytic reactor system for drop-in fuels
15 CE-O: Jet Biofuels from Forest Residuals (S&T) 2
CFS: RNG Potential 16
17 RNG Pilot Facilities & Industry Support 5 25 kg/h fluid bed gasifier Technical support for CFS and AAFC studies on biomass availability (and sustainability) within concentric circular fuelsheds centred on RNG injection sites Pilot-scale production of high quality syngas from Canadian biomass feedstocks including process modelling Technical support for RNG technology development (G4 Insights) and demonstrations (CGA) Review state-of-the-art for biomass feed to pressurized systems Assessment of simplified and hybrid approaches for production of RNG Techniques for real-time tar measurement and reduction from producer gas
Gasification Tools 18 Project : Novel technique for tar measurement in industrial installations Key Considerations: Syngas conversion requires extensive cleaning which in turn requires accurate, timely tar measurement Results: Completed the development, assembly and testing of hardened portable tar and trace contaminant system Impact : Reduced barrier for implementation of gasification technologies
Mill Test: Conventional Tar Sampling Equipment
Mill Test: CE-O Tar Sampling Column
21 Accelerating Biorefinery Developments International Collaborations: Mission Innovation (Sustainable Biofuels Innovation Challenge) International Energy Agency Biofuture Platform Work with biorefinery developers to optimize and scale-up biorefineries (conversion of internal streams and underutilized byproducts) Collaborate with traditionally non-biomass industries to develop markets for secondary biorefinery products Develop partnerships for separation and extraction of components/byproducts from biorefinery streams
Acknowledgements Performers: CE-O: Benjamin Bronson, Guy Tourigny, Dillon Mazerolle, Leslie Nguyen, Travis Robinson, Jacques Monnier, Murlidhar Gupta, Yi Zhang CFS: Matthew Schacker, Brian Titus FPInnovations: Doug Singbeil, Wenli Duo, Hooman Rezaei Collaborations
Thank you for your time and attention! Fernando Preto CanmetENERGY Ottawa Tel: 613 769 6259 email: fernando.preto@canada.ca