DOE’s Big Drop-in Biofuels RFI asks “where are we on the road to affordable hydrocarbon fuels?”

May 12, 2014 |

DOElogoIn Washington, the Department of Energy is seeking stakeholder input regarding the eight representative biofuel pathways that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office has selected to guide its Research and Development strategy in the near-term.

DOE also seeks input on other pre-commercial pathways that they should consider in the near- to long-term.

DOE emphasized that “this is a Request for Information only. DOE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. DOE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.”

Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of this RFI and where to submit questions regarding submission of responses can be found in the full RFI posted on the EERE Exchange website here. All responses to this RFI must be provided as an attachment in an e-mail message addressed to [email protected] with the subject line “Response to RFI” no later than 5:00pm (EDT) on MAY 30TH, 2014.

Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) or PDF attachment of no more than 5 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins, not to exceed 2.5MB in size.  Only electronic responses will be accepted.

1. Biological Conversion of Sugars to Hydrocarbons – biomass-derived sugars—separated from feedstocks through a series of chemical and biological processes—are further transformed, recovered, and purified to yield hydrocarbons for fuels and co-product commodities.

2. Catalytic Upgrading of Sugars to Hydrocarbons – biomass-derived sugars—separated from feedstocks through a series of chemical and biochemical processes—are upgraded via aqueous phase reforming into hydrocarbons for fuels and co-product commodities.

3. Fast Pyrolysis and Hydroprocessing – biomass is rapidly heated in a fluidized bed reactor to yield vapors, which are condensed into a liquid bio-oil. This bio-oil is subsequently hydroprocessed to produce hydrocarbon biofuel blendstocks.

4. Ex-situ Catalytic Pyrolysis – biomass is rapidly heated in a fluidized bed reactor containing a catalyst to yield vapors, which are catalytically modified and condensed into a partially stabilized and deoxygenated liquid bio-oil. This stable bio-oil is subsequently upgraded to produce hydrocarbon biofuel blendstocks.

5. In-situ Catalytic Pyrolysis – biomass is rapidly heated in a fluidized bed reactor containing a catalyst to yield a partially stabilized and deoxygenated bio-oil vapor. The vapor is condensed into a liquid bio-oil and subsequently upgraded to produce hydrocarbon biofuel blendstocks.

6. Whole Algae Hydrothermal Liquefaction – bio-oils are separated from water via heat and pressure, so they can be catalytically hydrotreated and converted to advanced hydrocarbon fuels.

7. Algal Lipid Upgrading – bio-oils are extracted from algal biomass via high-pressure homogenization and a hexane solvent; the algal oil can then be hydrotreated to produce advanced hydrocarbon fuels.

8. Syngas Upgrading to Hydrocarbon Fuels – biomass feedstocks are gasified to produce a clean syngas, which is used as a feedstock for hydrocarbon biofuel production.

CATEGORY 1: Input on Representative Pathways

DOE is interested in additional information on any or all of the Office’s eight (8) representative pathways, regarding:

a. Key process characteristics (including feedstock type(s), intermediate product(s), deconstruction and intermediate upgrading technologies, primary product(s), and co-products);

b. Product yields;

c. Current state of technology (including technology readiness level);

d. Current process economics (including finished product cost);

e. Near/Mid/Long-term techno-economic potential (including target costs for primary product(s) and finished fuel);

f. Time horizon for commercial relevance (including when first commercial plant is expected to be built);

g. Feedstock availability/flexibility;

h. Potential volumetric impact in 2030;

i. Environmental performance (including life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and water and air quality impacts);

j. Co-product economics.

The DOE is also seeking input on other potential pathways for the near-to-long term.

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