Production Cost and Carbon Footprint of Biomass-Derived Dimethylcyclooctane as a High-Performance Jet Fuel Blendstock

Near-term decarbonization of aviation requires energy-dense, renewable liquid fuels. Biomass-derived 1,4-dimethylcyclooctane (DMCO), a cyclic alkane with a volumetric net heat of combustion up to 9.2% higher than Jet A, has the potential to serve as a low-carbon, high-performance jet fuel blendstock...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering 2021-09, Vol.9 (35), p.11872-11882
Main Authors: Baral, Nawa Raj, Yang, Minliang, Harvey, Benjamin G, Simmons, Blake A, Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila, Lee, Taek Soon, Scown, Corinne D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
biomass sorghum
carbohydrates
catalysts
fossil fuels
fuels
INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
ionic liquid
isoprenol
life-cycle assessment
lignocellulosic sugar
redox reactions
sustainable aviation fuel
technoeconomic analysis
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Summary:Near-term decarbonization of aviation requires energy-dense, renewable liquid fuels. Biomass-derived 1,4-dimethylcyclooctane (DMCO), a cyclic alkane with a volumetric net heat of combustion up to 9.2% higher than Jet A, has the potential to serve as a low-carbon, high-performance jet fuel blendstock that may enable paraffinic bio-jet fuels to operate without aromatic compounds. DMCO can be produced from bio-derived isoprenol (3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol) through a multistep upgrading process. This study presents detailed process configurations for DMCO production to estimate the minimum selling price and life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint considering three different hydrogenation catalysts and two bioconversion pathways. The platinum-based catalyst offers the lowest production cost and GHG footprint of $9.0/L-Jet-Aeq and 61.4 gCO2e/MJ, given the current state of technology. However, when the supply chain and process are optimized, hydrogenation with a Raney nickel catalyst is preferable, resulting in a $1.5/L-Jet-Aeq cost and 18.3 gCO2e/MJ GHG footprint if biomass sorghum is the feedstock. This price point requires dramatic improvements, including 28 metric-ton/ha sorghum yield and 95–98% of the theoretical maximum conversion of biomass-to-sugars, sugars-to-isoprenol, isoprenol-to-isoprene, and isoprene-to-DMCO. Because increased gravimetric energy density of jet fuels translates to reduced aircraft weight, DMCO also has the potential to improve aircraft efficiency, particularly on long-haul flights.
ISSN:2168-0485
2168-0485
DOI:10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03772