SEP Integrated National Framework for Cellulosic Drop-in Fuels

美国国家科学基金会可持续能源路径(SEP)计划在国家科学、工程和教育促进可持续发展(SEES)倡议的框架下，将支持缅因州大学海曼特·彭德斯教授和同事的研究计划。这个高度多学科的团队将通过整合工程学、环境科学、经济学和政策等学科，开发一个评估和比较生物燃料技术的框架。作为基准，该框架将应用于甲酸辅助热解(FORMAP)，这是一种变革性的(基础设施兼容)碳氢化合物生物燃料技术。项目努力将最终形成一个多标准决策分析(MCDA)工具。研究将包括以下工作：(1)根据与FORMAP技术相关的各种原料、加工、部件回收和生产方案，评估产品生命周期每个阶段的环境影响，以及(2)评估快速实施新技术可能存在的政策、法律和社会接受障碍。这一点与MCDA工具相结合，将最终形成能源路径准备程度(EPRL)等级，根据该等级，可以评估这项FORMAP技术和其他能源技术在其他地区商业舞台上的部署准备情况。FORMAP化学具有变革性，因为它使多相催化后处理的范式转变成为可能，多相催化后处理是目前研究最多的改善热解的途径。该项目将FORMAP用于实际的生物质衍生中间体，而不是使用合成试剂。这项研究将为公众和监管机构接受和商业化提供最可持续的途径。虽然拟议的研究重点是东北地区，但研究成果将广泛适用于美国其他地区。由于需要一套广泛的技术来减少对石油的总体依赖，这些分析将使系统地结合特定区域的原料生产、燃料生产和产品分销技术成为可能。教育计划将利用在线教学来扩大受众的规模和范围。总的来说，教育和外联工作将促进那些进入生物燃料行业或目前在生物燃料行业工作的人的应用劳动力发展。在跨学科研究合作以及本科生和研究生研究项目方面的经验将促进下一代科学家和科学发现。这项研究将支持新工艺FORMAP的开发，该工艺有可能用可用于航空和地面运输的新插入式生物燃料来可再生地取代石油产品。拟议的研究将导致开发一种多标准决策分析(MCDA)工具，使其他地区的国内和国际研究人员能够通过改变适合当地的原料选择、生产工艺以及运输和分配替代方案来优化先进生物燃料的整体可持续性。该项目开发的详细化学特征和工艺模型将为FORMAP的经济性和将其整合到现有石油燃料基础设施中提供数据。

The NSF Sustainable Energy pathways (SEP) Program, under the umbrella of the NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) initiative, will support the research program of Prof. Hemant Pendse and co-workers at the University of Maine. The highly multi-disciplinary team will develop a framework for evaluating and comparing biofuel technologies by integrating the disciplines of engineering, environmental science, economics, and policy. As a baseline, the framework will be applied to Formate Assisted Pyrolysis (FORMAP) which is a transformative new "drop-in" (infrastructure compatible) hydrocarbon biofuel technology. Project efforts will culminate in a multi-criteria decision-making analysis (MCDA) tool. The research will include work to (1) Evaluate the environmental impacts of each stage of the product life cycle based on various feedstock, processing, component recycling and production scenarios related to the FORMAP technology, and (2) Evaluate possible policy, legal and social acceptance barriers to swift implementation of the new technology. This combined with the MCDA tool will culminate in an Energy Pathway Readiness Level (EPRL) scale, by which this FORMAP technology and other energy technologies could be evaluated for their "readiness" for deployment in the commercial arena in other regions. The FORMAP chemistry is transformative as it makes possible a paradigm shift away from the heterogeneous catalytic post-processing, which is currently the most studied pathway to improve pyrolysis. This project takes FORMAP to real biomass derived intermediates rather using synthetic reagents. The research will provide guidance on the most sustainable pathway for public and regulatory acceptance, and commercialization. While the proposed research is focused on the Northeast region, the research results will be broadly applicable other regions in the United States. Since a broad suite of technologies will be necessary to reduce the overall dependence on petroleum, the analyses will make it possible to systematically marry feedstock production, fuel production, and product distribution technologies for a particular region. Education initiatives will utilize online delivery to improve the size and scope of the audience. Taken in total, education and outreach efforts will promote applied workforce development for those entering or currently working within the biofuels industry. Experience in interdisciplinary research collaboratives and undergraduate and graduate student research projects will promote the next generation of scientists and scientific discoveries.The research will support development of a new process, FORMAP, which has the potential to renewably replace petroleum products with new drop-in biofuels that can be used for aviation and ground transport. The proposed research will result in the development of a multi-criteria decision-making analysis (MCDA) tool that will allow national and international researchers in other regions to optimize the overall sustainability of advanced biofuels through alterations to feedstock choices, production processes, and transportation and distribution alternatives that are locally appropriate. Detailed chemical characterization and process models developed by the project will provide data for the economics and integration of FORMAP into existing petroleum fuels infrastructure.