E-diesel

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E-diesel is a synthetic diesel fuel for use in automobiles. Currently, e-diesel is created at two sites: by an Audi research facility Germany in partnership with a company named Sunfire, and in Texas. The fuel is created from carbon dioxide, water, and electricity with a process powered by renewable energy sources to create a liquid energy carrier called blue crude (in contrast to regular crude oil) which is then refined to generate e-diesel. E-diesel is considered to be a carbon-neutral fuel as it does not extract new carbon and the energy sources to drive the process are from carbon-neutral sources.

Contents

Catalytic conversions

WaterCO2
Electrolysis of Water
OxygenHydrogen
Conversion Reactor
WaterHydrogenCO
F-T Reactor
Sunfire power-to-liquids system

Sunfire, a clean technology company, operates a pilot plant in Dresden, Germany. The current process involves high-temperature electrolysis powered by electricity generated from renewable energy sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The next two chemical processes to create a liquid energy carrier called blue crude are done at a temperature of 220 °C (428 °F) and a pressure of 25 bars (2,500 kPa). In a conversion step, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are used to create syngas with water as byproduct. The syngas, which contains carbon monoxide and hydrogen, reacts to generate the blue crude.

1st step: Electrolysis of Water (SOEC) −water is split into hydrogen and oxygen.
2nd step: Conversion Reactor (RWGSR) −hydrogen and carbon dioxide are inputs to the Conversion Reactor that outputs hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and water.
3rd step: F-T Reactor −hydrogen and carbon monoxide are inputs [2] [3] to the F-T Reactor that outputs paraffinic and olefinic hydrocarbons, ranging from methane to high molecular weight waxes. [4]

The third step is also known as Fischer–Tropsch process which was first developed in 1925 by German chemists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch. After the blue crude is produced, it can be refined to create e-diesel on site, saving the fuel and other infrastructure costs on crude transportation. [5] As of April 2015, Sunfire has a capability to produce a limited amount of fuel at 160 litres (35 imp gal; 42 US gal) a day. There is a plan to increase the production to an industrial scale. [6]

Audi also partners with a company named Climeworks which manufactures Direct Air Capture technology. Climeworks technologies can absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide which is chemically captured at the surface of a sorbent until it becomes saturated. At that point, the sorbent is introduced with 95 °C (203 °F) heat in a desorption cycle to drive out the high-purity carbon dioxide that can be used during the conversion step of the blue crude generation process. The atmospheric carbon dioxide capturing process has 90% of energy demand in the form of low-temperature heat and the rest from electrical energy for pumping and control. The combined plant of Climeworks and Sunfire in Dresden became operational in November 2014. [5] As of April 2015, an Audi A8 driven by Federal Minister of Education and Research in Germany is using the e-diesel fuel. [7] [8]

A plant on Herøya in Norway, producing 10 million liters per year, is being considered, as CO2 from a fertilizer plant is readily available and electricity is relatively cheap in Norway. [9]

An E-diesel plant in Texas started in 2024. [10]

Properties

As much as eighty percent of blue crude can be converted into e-diesel. The fuel contains no sulfur or aromatics, and has a high cetane number. These properties allow it to be blended with typical fossil diesel and used as a replacement fuel in automobiles with diesel engines. [5]

Oxygen by-product

In future designs, [11] [12] the oxygen by-product may be combined with renewable natural gas in the oxidative coupling of methane to ethylene: [13] [14]

2CH
4
+ O
2
C
2
H
4
+ 2H
2
O

The reaction is exothermic (∆H = -280 kJ/mol) and occurs at high temperatures (750–950 ˚C). [15] The yield of the desired C
2
products is reduced by non-selective reactions of methyl radicals with the reactor surface and oxygen, which produces carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide by-products. Another ethylene production initiative developed by the European Commission through the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development is the OCMOL process, which is the Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) and simultaneous Reforming of Methane (RM) in a fully integrated reactor. [16]

Biocatalytic conversions

Helioculture combines brackish water (or graywater), nutrients, photosynthetic organisms, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to create fuel. Helioculture image.png
Helioculture combines brackish water (or graywater), nutrients, photosynthetic organisms, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to create fuel.

Audi also partnered with a now-defunct United States company, Joule, to develop Sunflow-D as e-diesel for Audi. Joule's planned plant in New Mexico involved the use of genetically modified microorganisms in bright sunlight to act as catalyst for the conversion of carbon dioxide and salty water into hydrocarbons. [5] [17] The process could be modified for longer molecular chains to produce alkanes in order to create synthetic diesel. [18] [19] [20] [21]

Joule was the first company to patent a modified organism that continuously secretes hydrocarbon fuel. The organism is a single-celled cyanobacterium, also known as blue-green algae, although it is technically not an algae. It produces the fuel using photosynthesis, the same process that multi-cellular green plants use, to make sugars and other materials from water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. [22]

Similar initiatives

There are other initiatives to create synthetic fuel from carbon dioxide and water, some are called e-diesel. The water splitting methods vary.

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is designing a power-to-liquids system using the Fischer-Tropsch Process to create fuel on board a ship at sea, [58] with the base products carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) being derived from sea water via "An Electrochemical Module Configuration For The Continuous Acidification Of Alkaline Water Sources And Recovery Of CO2 With Continuous Hydrogen Gas Production". [59] [60]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biofuel</span> Type of biological fuel

Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source. The use of biofuel has been subject to criticism regarding the "food vs fuel" debate, varied assessments of their sustainability, and possible deforestation and biodiversity loss as a result of biofuel production.

Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principally used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as a fuel. Historically, it has been used as a replacement for gasoline, when gasoline supply has been limited; for example, wood gas was used to power cars in Europe during WWII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasification</span> Form of energy conversion

Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (CO2). This is achieved by reacting the feedstock material at high temperatures (typically >700 °C), without combustion, via controlling the amount of oxygen and/or steam present in the reaction. The resulting gas mixture is called syngas (from synthesis gas) or producer gas and is itself a fuel due to the flammability of the H2 and CO of which the gas is largely composed. Power can be derived from the subsequent combustion of the resultant gas, and is considered to be a source of renewable energy if the gasified compounds were obtained from biomass feedstock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative fuel</span> Fuels from sources other than fossil fuels

Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are fuels derived from sources other than petroleum. Alternative fuels include gaseous fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, methane, and ammonia; biofuels like biodiesel, bioalcohol, and refuse-derived fuel; and other renewable fuels like hydrogen and electricity.

The Fischer–Tropsch process (FT) is a collection of chemical reactions that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, known as syngas, into liquid hydrocarbons. These reactions occur in the presence of metal catalysts, typically at temperatures of 150–300 °C (302–572 °F) and pressures of one to several tens of atmospheres. The Fischer–Tropsch process is an important reaction in both coal liquefaction and gas to liquids technology for producing liquid hydrocarbons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam reforming</span> Method for producing hydrogen and carbon monoxide from hydrocarbon fuels

Steam reforming or steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method for producing syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) by reaction of hydrocarbons with water. Commonly natural gas is the feedstock. The main purpose of this technology is hydrogen production. The reaction is represented by this equilibrium:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabatier reaction</span> Methanation process of carbon dioxide with hydrogen

The Sabatier reaction or Sabatier process produces methane and water from a reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures and pressures in the presence of a nickel catalyst. It was discovered by the French chemists Paul Sabatier and Jean-Baptiste Senderens in 1897. Optionally, ruthenium on alumina makes a more efficient catalyst. It is described by the following exothermic reaction:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methanol economy</span>

The methanol economy is a suggested future economy in which methanol and dimethyl ether replace fossil fuels as a means of energy storage, ground transportation fuel, and raw material for synthetic hydrocarbons and their products. It offers an alternative to the proposed hydrogen economy or ethanol economy, although these concepts are not exclusive. Methanol can be produced from a variety of sources including fossil fuels as well as agricultural products and municipal waste, wood and varied biomass. It can also be made from chemical recycling of carbon dioxide.

Coal liquefaction is a process of converting coal into liquid hydrocarbons: liquid fuels and petrochemicals. This process is often known as "Coal to X" or "Carbon to X", where X can be many different hydrocarbon-based products. However, the most common process chain is "Coal to Liquid Fuels" (CTL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synthetic fuel</span> Fuel from carbon monoxide and hydrogen

Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reforming of natural gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biomass to liquid</span>

Biomass to liquid is a multi-step process of producing synthetic hydrocarbon fuels made from biomass via a thermochemical route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas to liquids</span> Conversion of natural gas to liquid petroleum products

Gas to liquids (GTL) is a refinery process to convert natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons into longer-chain hydrocarbons, such as gasoline or diesel fuel. Methane-rich gases are converted into liquid synthetic fuels. Two general strategies exist: (i) direct partial combustion of methane to methanol and (ii) Fischer–Tropsch-like processes that convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen into hydrocarbons. Strategy ii is followed by diverse methods to convert the hydrogen-carbon monoxide mixtures to liquids. Direct partial combustion has been demonstrated in nature but not replicated commercially. Technologies reliant on partial combustion have been commercialized mainly in regions where natural gas is inexpensive.

Hydrogen gas is produced by several industrial methods. In 2022 less than 1% of hydrogen production was low-carbon. Fossil fuels are the dominant source of hydrogen, for example by steam reforming of natural gas. Other methods of hydrogen production include biomass gasification and methane pyrolysis. Methane pyrolysis and water electrolysis can use any source of electricity including renewable energy. Underground hydrogen is extracted.

Renewable Fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels, Hydrogen fuel, and fully synthetic fuel produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water. This is in contrast to non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, LPG (propane), petroleum and other fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Renewable fuels can include fuels that are synthesized from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Renewable fuels have gained in popularity due to their sustainability, low contributions to the carbon cycle, and in some cases lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The geo-political ramifications of these fuels are also of interest, particularly to industrialized economies which desire independence from Middle Eastern oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joule Unlimited</span>

Joule Unlimited, formerly known as Joule Biotechnologies, was a producer of alternative energy technologies based in Bedford, Massachusetts. The company developed a process to generate hydrocarbon-based fuel by combining non-fresh water, nutrients, cyanobacteria, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. After ten years of operation and building a demonstration plant in New Mexico, the company shut down in August 2017. The company shut down after management was unable to raise money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrofuel</span> Carbon-neutral drop-in replacement fuel

Electrofuels, also known as e-fuels, a class of synthetic fuels, are a type of drop-in replacement fuel. They are manufactured using captured carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, together with hydrogen obtained from water split by low-carbon electricity sources such as wind, solar and nuclear power.

A solar fuel is a synthetic chemical fuel produced from solar energy. Solar fuels can be produced through photochemical, photobiological, and electrochemical reactions.

Carbon-neutral fuel is fuel which produces no net-greenhouse gas emissions or carbon footprint. In practice, this usually means fuels that are made using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock. Proposed carbon-neutral fuels can broadly be grouped into synthetic fuels, which are made by chemically hydrogenating carbon dioxide, and biofuels, which are produced using natural CO2-consuming processes like photosynthesis.

Power-to-gas is a technology that uses electric power to produce a gaseous fuel. When using surplus power from wind generation, the concept is sometimes called windgas.

Syngas to gasoline plus (STG+) is a thermochemical process to convert natural gas, other gaseous hydrocarbons or gasified biomass into drop-in fuels, such as gasoline, diesel fuel or jet fuel, and organic solvents.

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