Hydrothermal upgrading of non-food corn-oil into high value alternative fuels

在这个NSERC CRD项目中，我们将与Aduro Energy和格林菲尔德特种酒精公司合作，研究如何从乙醇生产过程中产生的玉米油废料中生产高质量的燃料。西方大学的初步工作表明，通过调整亚/超临界水中的实验条件，可以很容易地控制游离脂肪酸的几种模型化合物的脱羧化学，以帮助驱动脱羧化学。在接近超临界条件下的水有助于溶解生物质进料，同时有助于驱动脱羧化学达到非常高的产率并形成升级的燃料。该项目将重点将乙醇生产的副产品玉米油升级为绿色柴油和喷气燃料。这种方法可以通过将低价值的副产品玉米油转化为高价值的替代燃料，帮助世界各地的乙醇生产商增加收入。 来自西方的学生将优化催化剂结构和反应工程工艺参数，研究脱羧动力学和反应机理。将检查从四个GFSA酒精生产基地提供的原料的化学结构和变异性如何影响催化过程和催化剂失活。 在本项目结束时，我们将优化催化剂结构和工艺动力学。 此外，我们将帮助我们的支持公司在他们的查塔姆，安大略省的工厂展示这种方法，同时他们将在一个新的演示设施中翻译我们的结果。该项目将有助于消除目前的废物问题，同时为加拿大经济提供新的清洁技术解决方案和价值链。

In this NSERC CRD project we will work with Aduro Energy and Greenfield Specialty Alcohols on examining how to produce high quality fuels from corn-oil waste produced during ethanol production. Preliminary work at Western University has shown that decarboxylation chemistry of several model compounds of free fatty acids can be easily controlled by tuning the experimental conditions in sub/supercritical water to help drive the decarboxylation chemistry. Water at near supercritical conditions both helps to solubilize the biomass feed while helping drive the decarboxylation chemistry to very high yields and forming upgraded fuel. This project will focus on upgrading corn oil produced as a byproduct of EtOH production into green diesel and jet fuel. This approach can help increase the revenue of ethanol producers around the world by converting their low value byproduct corn oil into high value alternative fuels. Students from Western will optimize the catalyst structure and reaction engineering process parameters, examining the decarboxylation kinetics and reaction mechanism. Feedstocks provided from four GFSA alcohol production sites will be examined on how their chemical structure and variability influences the catalytic process and catalyst deactivation. At the end of this project we will have optimized the catalyst structure and process dynamics. In addition, we will help our supporting company's demonstrate this approach at their Chatham, Ont facility who in parallel will translate our results in a new demonstration faciltity. This project will help eliminate a current waste problem while providing a new cleantech solution and value chain for the Canadian economy.