EAGER: Lignin as a Sustainable Resource for Hydrocarbon-Like Transportation Fuels

PI：Kiran，Erdogan建议编号：1250663机构：弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学标题：EIGER：木质素作为碳氢化合物类运输燃料的可持续资源替代能源研究的一个重要未来目标是开发基于非食用原料的生物燃料技术。在这方面，开发可持续且不以粮食作物为基础的原料变化较少的资源是一项持续的挑战。同样重要的是将生物质转化为低氧碳比(O/C)和高氢碳比(H/C)的类烃液体燃料，因为这是与未来需求特别高的石油基运输燃料兼容所必需的。在生物质组分(即纤维素、半纤维素和木质素)中，木质素具有最低的O/C和最高的H/C比。因此，如果它作为一种均匀的原料存在，它将是一种非常有吸引力的转换为碳氢化合物类液体运输燃料的起始材料。目前，这样的资源还不存在。可用的木质素是制浆过程的副产品，是碳水化合物组分含量较高的复杂混合物。它们具有高的O/C比，其组成取决于所采用的制浆工艺。这一迫切的研究项目将探索一种综合方法的可行性，以产生均匀的无碳水化合物木质素原料，作为生产碳氢化合物类运输燃料的资源。设想的过程将利用超临界流体的可调特性和离子液体的溶解能力相结合。目前正在考虑一个综合过程，该过程还将通过产品产生附加值，这些产品本身可以成为替代燃料或化学原料的资源。副产品包括可用作生物柴油来源的油和脂肪；或可用作生物乙醇资源或可直接用作造纸纸浆来源的无抽提物的纤维素和半纤维素。然而，初步探索的主要焦点是产生一种无碳水化合物的均匀木质素来源的可行性，这种来源可以转化为低O/C和高H/C比的液体生物燃料，类似于使用离子液体和超临界流体混合的石油基烃类燃料。这项研究将产生与超临界流体和离子液体混合物有关的关键初步数据，涉及它们对植物和木质生物质复杂细胞壁的渗透、提取和修饰能力。关于纤维素、半纤维素和木质素在超临界流体和离子液体混合物中的相容性以及无抽提物木质素的解聚和加氢脱氧的新信息将产生新的信息。这些发现预计在材料科学和聚合物改性等其他几个应用领域也有价值。这项研究项目将在涉及的多学科领域培养一名研究生和一名本科生。

PI: Kiran, ErdoganProposal Number: 1250663Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityTitle: EAGER: Lignin as a Sustainable Resource for Hydrocarbon-Like Transportation FuelsAn important future goal in alternative energy research is the development of biofuel technologies that are based on non-edible feedstocks. In this context, the development of resources with reduced feedstock variations that are sustainable and are not based on food crops is a continuing challenge. Equally important is the transformation of biomass to hydrocarbon-like liquid fuels with low oxygen-to- carbon (O/C) and high hydrogen-to-carbon ratios (H/C) as this is required for compatibility with petroleum- based transportation fuels for which future demands are projected to be particularly high.Among the biomass components (namely cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin), lignin has the lowest O/C and the highest H/C ratio. As such, if it were to exist as a uniform feedstock, it would be an extremely attractive starting material for conversion to hydrocarbon-like liquid transportation fuels. Currently, such a resource does not exist. Lignins that are available are the byproducts of pulping processes, which are complex mixtures with high content of carbohydrate fractions. They have high O/C ratios, and their compositions depend on the pulping process employed.This EAGER research project will explore the feasibility of an integrated approach to generate a uniform carbohydrates-free lignin feedstock as a resource for generation of hydrocarbon-like transportation fuels. The process that is envisioned will employ the tunable properties of supercritical fluids combined with the dissolving power of ionic liquids. An integrated process is being considered that will also be generating value-added by products which can themselves be a resource for alternative fuels or chemical feedstocks. Among the byproducts are oils and fats which can be a resource for biodiesel; or extractives-free cellulose and hemicelluloses which can be a resource for bioethanol or can directly be used as a pulp source in paper production. The primary focus of the initial exploration is however on the feasibility of generation of a carbohydrates-free uniform lignin source which can be converted to liquid biofuels with low O/C and high H/C ratio, similar to petroleum-based hydrocarbon fuels using mixtures of ionic liquids with supercritical fluids.The research will generate the key preliminary data pertaining to supercritical fluids and ionic liquid mixtures with respect to their penetration, extraction and modification power of the complex cell walls of plant and woody biomass. New information will be generated on the miscibility of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in mixtures of supercritical fluids and ionic liquids as well as new information on depolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation of extractives-free lignin. These findings are expected to be also of value in several other application areas such as materials science and polymer modifications. This research project will train one graduate and one underdraduate student in the involved multidisciplinary disciplines.