SBIR Phase I: Step-Out Process for Producing Bio-Gasoline

这项小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段研究提供了一条清洁而高效的路线，以纤维素材料制造生物汽油。这项技术将减少对外国石油的依赖，并通过将未使用的农业废弃物和牧草转化为生物汽油来减少净碳排放。该方法安全、环保。避免了酶发酵，转而采用更快、更便宜的化学路线，液体酸催化剂被更清洁的替代品取代。该提案寻求开发一种新型催化剂，使纤维素水合物转化为可用作汽油调和剂的含氧碳氢化合物。由于将纤维素转化为燃料的效率更高，并消除了生物转化和酶转化所需的成本和时间，这一过程将比生产纤维素乙醇的效率高得多。这项研究的更广泛影响将是导致一个能够将生物质直接转化为汽油替代品的过程。每年可生产数百亿加仑的这种汽车燃料，为农民和生产者创造经济机会，并为公众提供更稳定和安全的汽车燃料来源。该项目还在催化和生物材料加工领域提供了新的科学发展。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research provides a clean and efficient route to bio-gasoline made from cellulosic materials. This technology will reduce dependence on foreign oil and decrease net carbon emissions by converting unused agricultural wastes and grasses to bio-gasoline. The method is safe and environmentally friendly. Enzymatic fermentation is eschewed in favor of a faster and cheaper chemical route, and liquid acid catalysts are replaced by cleaner alternatives. The proposal seeks to develop a novel catalyst to allow cellulose hydrosylate to be converted into oxygenated hydrocarbons useable as gasoline blending agents. Such a process would be significantly more efficient than cellulosic ethanol production due to greater efficiency in the conversion of cellulose to fuel and eliminating the cost and time required for biological and enzymatic conversions. The broader impact of this research would be to lead to a process enabling the direct conversion of biomass into a gasoline substitute. Production of tens of billions of gallons of this motor fuel could be produced every year, creating economic opportunities for farmers, producers, and providing the public with a more stable and secure source of motor fuel. This project also offers new scientific developments in the areas of catalysis and the processing of biomaterials.