PURDUE UNIVERSITY
In order to minimize the land area needed to grow biomass to meet our nation's liquid fuel demand for the transportation sector, it is essential that the efficiency of conversion of biomass carbon to liquid fuel be maximized. To this end the synergistic development of a thermal conversion process using catalysts is envisioned, with optimized structures and composition of lignocellulosic biomass, to yield directly high-energy density liquid fuels. If direct conversion cannot be optimized, oxygen removal from the biomass will be improved for a bio-crude that may be further refined. Preliminary data indicate a dependence on cell wall composition and structure for the reaction products of biomass in pyrolytic conditions. The basis for the work is the hypothesis that modification of key molecular bonds in wall architecture will reduce the temperature (energy input) required to produce a bio-oil and also change the distribution of molecular species released during hydropyrolysis at the new temperature. The intellectual merit of this proposal resides in the synergistic development of fundamental knowledge in each of the areas: (i) a chemical process using fast-hydropyrolysis along with in-situ hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) for biomass conversion, (ii) suitable catalyst development to enhance activity and selectivity of the thermal reactions; (iii) gene discovery for engineering of biomass tailored for its end-use in fast-hydropyrolysis/HDO, (iv) scientific and technical knowledge base to build small-scale distributed plants with low energy inputs and low supplemental hydrogen consumption, avoiding transportation of biomass over long distances. Study of all these aspects in parallel will reveal synergies for the production of energy-dense liquid fuel molecules that have not been seen before. The diverse team brings together experts in plant genomics, reaction engineering, catalysis, process systems analysis, chemistry and chemical engineering to create an interdisciplinary knowledge base that transforms the carbon and energy efficiencies of biofuels production. The proposed research and resulting technologies will introduce new and transformative concepts in the conversion of the entire biomass carbon to liquid fuel and will create scientific knowledge linking the physical and chemical structure of biomass to the conversion process using fasthydropyrolysis/ HDO. The use of maize mutants, transgenic lines, and diversity lines and their recombinant inbreds will allow rapid identification of genes controlling desirable quality traits that impact conversion efficiency for future translation to a variety of energy crops. Successful outcomes from the project will lead to the development of small distributed scale plants that will have environmental, commercial and economic impact of global proportions. The research results will be disseminated through conferences, journal articles, and the internet and by their incorporation in various energy-related courses and lectures at Purdue. Research opportunities will be provided to undergraduate and graduate students, and provided through existing outreach programs at Purdue. The PIs will disseminate information to and engage with chemical and energy companies to facilitate future implementation and thereby accelerate economic impact.
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| AWARD OVERVIEW |
| Award Number |
0938033 |
Funding Agency |
National Science Foundation |
| Total Award Amount |
$2,000,000 |
Project Location - City |
West Lafayette |
| Award Date |
07/30/2009 |
Project Location - State |
IN |
| Project Status |
More than 50% Completed |
Project Location - Zip |
47907-2024
|
| Jobs Reported |
5.32 |
Congressional District |
04 |
| Project Location - Country |
US |
|
|
Recipient Information
(Grants)
| Recipient Information (Grants) |
|
Recipient Name
|
PURDUE UNIVERSITY |
| Recipient DUNS Number |
072051394
|
| Recipient Address |
401 S GRANT ST |
| Recipient City |
WEST LAFAYETTE |
| Recipient State |
Indiana |
| Recipient Zip |
47907-2024 |
| Recipient Congressional District |
04 |
| Recipient Country |
USA |
Required to Report Top 5
Highly Compensated Officials |
No |
Projects and Jobs Information
| Projects and Jobs Information |
| Project Title |
EFRI-HyBi: Maximizing Conversion of Biomass carbon to Liquid Fuel |
| Project Status |
More than 50% Completed |
| Final Project Report Submitted |
No |
| Project Activities Description |
Research & Public Policy Analysis |
| Quarterly Activities/Project Description |
During the present quarterly period, the team investigated carbon-efficient processes for integrated biomass and natural gas conversion to liquid fuel. The analysis considered two biomass thermochemical conversion routes of fast-hydropyrolysis/HDO and gasification followed by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. For 55-95% carbon conversion to liquid fuel relative to the biomass feed, the team identified integrated process designs with energy efficiency values between 67-71%. The integrated process is estimated to produce 10-12% more liquid fuel output compared to the combined output of individual processes using the same quantity of biomass and natural gas respectively.
During the present quarterly period, the team utilized pyrolysis coupled with GC/FID/MS to quantitatively differentiate genetic variants of maize. In parallel they used a combination of pyrolysis coupled with a high resolution mass spectrometer as well as a mass spectrometer with collision activated dissociation capabilities. To provide a complete picture of the product distribution, they have developed 3 ionization methods that are capable of ionizing most of the known components of both biomass and cellulose pyrolysis. These pyrolysis-mass spectrometer methods allowed the team to more precisely examine product structure and elemental composition, and this information was used to help identify peaks from pyrolysis-GC/FID/MS experiments. This is a much greater level of rigor than the currently accepted standard practices in biomass pyrolysis literature for product identification. In the process of applying this procedure the team has identified several so-called isobars, or products that possess the same molecular ion mass-to-charge ratio. Many of these “same mass” products contained different functional groups, which could affect their catalytic upgrading. |
| Jobs Created |
5.32 |
| Description of Jobs Created |
Research Assistant (519.90 hours worked); Prof of Bio Sci/Dir Energy Center in DP (17.70 hours worked); Professor of Chemical Engineering (26.10 hours worked); Winthrop E Stone Distng Prof Chem Engr (51.90 hours worked); Graduate Research Assistant (1170.30 hours worked); Post Doc Research Associate (519.90 hours worked); Laboratory Technician VII (44.00 hours worked); Student Non Purdue Service (112.00 hours worked); Student Service (10.00 hours worked); Student Service - Instruction (144.00 hours worked); Student Service-Research (118.00 hours worked); Maxine S Nichols Emeritus Prof Chem Engr (31.50 hours worked) |
Purchaser Information
(Grants)
| Purchaser Information |
| Contracting Office ID |
Not Reported |
| Contracting Office Name |
Not Available |
| Contracting Office Region |
Not Available |
| TAS Major Program |
49-0101 |
| Award Information |
| Award Date |
07/30/2009 |
| Award Number |
0938033 |
| Order Number |
|
| Award Type |
Grants |
| Funding Agency ID |
49 |
| Funding Agency Name |
National Science Foundation |
| Funding Office Name |
Not Available |
| Awarding Agency ID |
49 |
| Awarding Agency Name |
National Science Foundation |
| Amount of Award |
$2,000,000 |
| Funds Invoiced/Received |
$1,581,834 |
| Expenditure Amount |
$1,635,156 |
| Infrastructure Expenditure Amount |
$0 |
| Infrastructure Purpose and Rationale |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact Name |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact Email |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact Phone |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact Address |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact City |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact State |
Not Reported |
| Infrastructure Point of Contact Zip |
Not Reported |
Product or Service Information
(Grants)
| Product or Service Information |
| Primary Activity Code |
**K |
| Activity Description |
Research & Public Policy Analysis |
| Sub-Awards Information |
| Sub-awards to Organizations |
0 |
| Sub-award Amounts to Organizations |
$0 |
| Sub-Awards to Individuals |
0 |
| Sub-Award Amounts to Individuals |
$0 |
| Number of Sub-awards less than $25,000/award |
0 |
| Amount of Sub-awards less than $25,000/award |
$0 |
| Number of payments to vendors greater than $25,000 |
3 |
| Total Amount of payments to vendors greater than $25,000/award |
$106,329 |
| Number of payments to vendors less than $25,000/award |
415 |
| Total Amount of payments to vendors less than $25,000/award |
$194,638 |
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. - Award Number 0938033 - AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
| Award Number |
0938033 |
| Sub-Award Number |
N/A |
| Vendor DUNS Number |
049231319 |
| Vendor HQ Zip Code + 4 |
95051-7201 |
| Vendor Name |
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Product and Service Description |
Agilent 7890A Series GC Custom |
| Payment Amount |
$25,624 |
Agilent Technologies, Inc. - Award Number 0938033 - Agilent Technologies, Inc.
| Award Number |
0938033 |
| Sub-Award Number |
N/A |
| Vendor DUNS Number |
195823570 |
| Vendor HQ Zip Code + 4 |
19808-1610 |
| Vendor Name |
Agilent Technologies, Inc. |
| Product and Service Description |
G3245A- 5975C Turbo CI System, G3163-60560 Low Gauss Magnet, G2589-20045 Drawout Plate |
| Payment Amount |
$42,399 |
FISHER SCIENTIFIC - Award Number 0938033 - FISHER SCIENTIFIC
| Award Number |
0938033 |
| Sub-Award Number |
N/A |
| Vendor DUNS Number |
Not reported |
| Vendor HQ Zip Code + 4 |
15275-1104 |
| Vendor Name |
FISHER SCIENTIFIC |
| Product and Service Description |
HP/HT Pressure Reactor 4575A |
| Payment Amount |
$38,306 |
| Location Information |
| Latitude, Longitude |
40º 25' 22",
-86º 55' 0" |
| Congressional District |
04 |
| Address 1 |
|
| Address 2 |
|
| City |
West Lafayette |
| County |
Tippecanoe |
| State |
IN |
| Zip |
47907-2024 |
|
 |