Developing a Research Agenda for Utilization of Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Dr. Jennifer Holmgren.
Recycling Carbon Proprietary Microbe Industrial Off Gas Biomass Steel Refining MSW Waste Ferroalloy Solids Gas Feed Stream Compression Fermentation Recovery Product Tank
China 48k MTA 2018 Belgium 63k MTA 2019 South Africa 42k MTA 2019 India 33.5k MTA 2019 Industrial Off Gases
8M Japan gpy MSW Syngas Biomass Demonstration Syngas Scale 2019 2013-2017
Consistent Performance Through Sequential Campaigns at MSW Pilot Plant Highly robust process in face of a fluctuating syngas Product Selectivity (%) H 2 :CO Syngas Ratio 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0 5 10 Days 100% 90% 80% Stable ethanol selectivity at 95% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 5 10 Time (days) 15 20 Ethanol Acetic Acetic Acid 2,3-BDO 2,3-BDO Biomass Gas Utilization [%] Highly consistent ethanol production performance within and across campaigns 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Gas utilization efficiency R1 Target Target 1 3 6 9 12 15 Time [days] Demonstrated 80% water recycle Low environmental footprint
It takes Time.It takes Data Caofeidian, China S/U: Q1 2013 300 MTA Japan S/U: Q4 2014 15 MTA Freedom Pines Soperton, GA S/U 2015 Shanghai, China S/U: Q1 2012 300 MTA Multiple Demo plants at various scales; >70,000 operating hours Kaohsiung, Taiwan S/U: Q1 2014 30 MTA CELEBRATING 12 YEARS Glenbrook Pilot Auckland, NZ S/U: 2008 15 MTA Strain Development Lab Pilot Demo Commercial
It Takes Cash! JDA Projects $20M Pilot and Demo $50M Government Funding $50M Equity Capital $250M Commercial Financing $50-$100 Per Facility
Global Challenge #1 100M barrels of oil consumed/day in 2017 Scale of Solution must Match Challenge!
Global Challenge #2 Global CO 2 Emissions Hit Record High in 2017 Solutions Required Quickly!
Turning Challenges into Opportunities 40gt CO 2 50M bpd oil 50M bpd Liquid fuel CU Reduces Emissions Turns High Volumes of Waste Carbon into Feedstock Displaces need for Fresh Fossil Resources
CU Feedstocks for Gas Fermentation Available Today Available low-cost C-feeds Industrial Waste Gas Steel, Ferroalloys Recovery Biogas Diesel Jet Fuel Solid Waste Industrial, MSW Fermentation Purification Catalysis Separations Gasoline Butadiene Biomass Unparalleled Feedstock flexibility Continuous production process Max process yield
Potential Impact, Gas Fermentation Totals/year 680B Gallons 1B Cars off the road Relative to Today ~30% of crude oil use 100% of passenger cars 3.6M mt CO 2 10% of Global CO 2 Significant Global Potential 13
Technical Challenge #1 CO:H 2 ratio CO + H 2 + CO 2 CO + H 2 + CO 2 5 H 2 + CO + CO 2 EtOH + 2 H 2 O 1:5 5.4 H 2 + 1.4 CO 2 + 0.6 CO + 0.6 H 2 O EtOH + 3 H 2 O 1:9 High H 2 Syngas Demonstrated at pilot, allows CO 2 fixing in products CO 2 + H 2 4 H 2 + 2 CO 2 Acetate + 2 H 2 O Primarily Acetate production Availability of abundant, low cost reducing equivalents for heterotrophic systems
Overcoming the Challenge: Renewable Reducing Agents Low cost renewable energy Available lowcost C-feeds 100% carbon utilization Off gases Industrial Waste Gas Steel, Ferroalloys Biogas Electrolysis Recovery Diesel Jet Fuel Solid Waste Industrial, MSW Fermentation Purification Catalysis Separations Gasoline Butadiene Biomass CO 2 Limitless Potential
Potential Scale of CU Significant Global Potential (MT) Right policy and financial framework Meaningful carbon price Consumer awareness Energy containing gas streams >Mt potential Gas streams without energy (CO/H 2 ) is <kt NASA s supercomputer model created this simulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Photo: NASA/GSFC Low cost electrolysis will be key
Crossing the Valley of Death: Technical Challenge #3 Discovery Continuous improvement at scale Applied R&D Adapt and adopt from others Ease of funding Engineering Development Pilot and Demonstration Diffusion First Commercial Sustainable enterprise Evolution
Need an Active Pipeline to Drive Down Costs R&D at lab scale provides many ideas Pilot and Demo development requires significant investment and time. RISK: Stuck in Valley of Death FUNDING GAPS $ for commercial projects shown at demo scale nth plant Projects require $1-2M R&D funding exists Projects require $20-50M each Limited funding at this scale $100M+ No funding Operating Experience drives down costs
Current Unknowns and Research Agenda For both energy containing gases and gases with no energy content, there are limited number of product pathways that have been demonstrated. Key Gaps in Research Portfolio: 1. What are the pathways for large scale application for energy containing gases for CU today? 2. For gases without energy: What will be the lowest cost and sustainable source of energy to enable CU/fixation? 3. What is the path to reducing the cost of electrolysis for H 2 production/co 2 reduction to CO? 4. How sustainable are new technologies? (land use, water, biodiversity and C-reduction) How is the impact calculated? 5. What is the ability of pathways to tolerate and operate in context of contaminant containing gases (both catalytic and biological)? Need Funding to get New Technologies to Scale Quickly Need to Leverage Dropping price of Renewables to Enable CU
Summary: Challenges to Deployment Time It takes time to prove performance and optimize technology Messaging How is CU is perceived in view of high profile CCS challenges? Scale Need to perform outside of laboratory at industrial scale Parallel Development Need to develop engineering for scale up in parallel Market A stable market is needed for investment and scale up Policy Broad policy landscape for multiple sustainable solutions Investment Early stage investment is important but later stage investment is key to getting across Valley of Death. 20