Microchannnel reactors: Demonstrating the future for distributed biofuels production

Next generation biofuels - liquid fuels produced from waste products such as agricultural byproducts, construction debris and municipal solid waste - have attracted attention as an environmentally friendly substitute for petroleum-based transport fuels. But because biomass isn't very dense - it takes roughly 1 tonne of biomass to produce one barrel of liquid biofuel - biomass to liquid (BTL) production facilities need to be relatively small and located near the source of the biomass. Establishing BTL as a practical and economically feasible option requires demonstrating a way to intensify the BTL process in order to enable this distributed production of biofuels. 

A Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between US-based company, Velocys Inc, a member of the UK-based Oxford Catalysts Group, and the Portuguese incorporated holding company, SGC Energia (SGCE), will bring this goal closer to fruition.

Under the terms of the JDA, the Oxford Catalysts Group will receive US$5.9 million over the next year or so to enable the demonstration and commercialisation of its Fischer-Tropsch (FT) microchannel reactor technology. As part of this, Velocys and SGCE will work together to set up an FT microchannel reactor demonstration plant at the biomass gasification facility in the pioneering eco-town, Güssing, in Austria.

The demonstration plant, which will use gasified woodchips as a feedstock, will include an FT microchannel reactor skid with full length process and coolant channels. The plant, which will have a capacity of ~10,000 gallons/year (~100 l/day), is expected to be operational by early 2010. After a six month trial operation, the FT microchannel reactor skid will be transferred to the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, US, where it will be used in another trial to produce synthetic jet fuel. Meanwhile, SGCE will act as the lead company to commercialise the Velocys FT microchannel reactor technology for gasification-based facilities.

Tom Hickey, President, Velocys, said:

Microchannel technology provides a number of advantages for BTL applications. Because it accelerates Fischer Tropsch (FT) reactions by 10-15 fold compared to conventional processes, microchannel technology enables smaller reactors which  can operate efficiently when producing just 500-5,000 barrels of liquid fuel per day. As a result, these plants are very well suited for the distributed production of biofuels from a wide variety of waste products. Working together with SGCE, we hope to be able accelerate the introduction of distributed production of biofuels.

Vianney Vales, CEO, SGCE said:

SGCE is fully committed to biofuels and is deploying substantial resources in this market. We are confident that the Velocys technology provides an important competitive advantage in this area and that through our partnership with them we will secure a leading position in the production of clean next generation synthetic fuels.

Source: Oxford Catalysts, www.oxfordcatalysts.com