CHE.02 – Decreasing the (Bio)Massive Dependence on Fossil Fuels

• Patrycja Kotwis
• Shehan Makani
• Andreina Romero
• Neil Simon

The primary sources of energy are fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Fossil fuels account for 79% of the total global energy consumption with the United States consuming 18.2 million barrels per day in 2020. There is a high dependence on fossil fuels for energy, however, fossil fuels are not abundant nor an environmentally sustainable source of energy. Emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes contribute to about 78% of the total greenhouse gas emissions increase from 1970 to 2011. In order to decrease the dependence on nonrenewable fuel and greenhouse gas emissions, the United States government has implemented the Regulatory Fuel Standard (RFS) program to require refiners, fuel importers to blend a portion of their product with renewable fuel to meet the Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) each year. In this way, RINs act as regulatory credits assigned to a company based on how many gallons of renewable fuel are used and monitor its compliance with the RVO. Companies who do not comply with these regulations may purchase fuels with Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) from renewable fuel producers or importers to blend with their fuel. Our design project proposes the production of a renewable fuel via fast pyrolysis from biomass sourced from industrial waste woodchips. Located in east Texas, our plant processes the woody biomass feed, along with sand and fluidization gas, in a high temperature fast pyrolysis reactor that produces a vapor and solid phase stream that is separated in a series of cyclones. The solids from the cyclones enter a combustor and combust with air to heat the sand that provides the process heat needed for the endothermic pyrolysis reactions. The pyrolysis vapors are fed into two condensers and finally a decanter to then produce the renewable fuel that will be sold as a D3 RIN to nonrenewable fuel producers, renewable fuel exporters, or blenders. Our project, Decreasing the (Bio)Massive Dependance on Fossil Fuels, aims at exploring a process that allows for the production of a renewable fuel that will be sold to industries that need to comply with RFS regulation and ultimately decrease the country’s overall dependence on nonrenewable fuels.