Cool Planet Energy Systems is a three-year-old start-up producing renewable gasoline blendstock from renewable non-food biomass feedstock. We have devised an economical biomass-to-liquid thermo-chemical conversion process that simultaneously produces liquid fuels and sequesterable biochar, the latter useful as a soil amendment. Fuel produced from this process is termed 'negative-carbon fuel' since more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere than released from combustion. The process for producing this fuel relies in part on a unique thermo-chemical decomposition of biomass that ramps the biomass temperature while the biomass is being subjected to pressure shocks. We have built a 200,000 gallon per year pilot plant using this process technology and have demonstrated in laboratory studies that biochar generated using this process can exhibit excellent soil amendment properties. Fuel produced from this pilot plant has been fleet tested in a blend formulation in several automobiles. The process is widely tunable in the produced biochar/fuel ratio. We also describe our plans to mass produce trailer-sized modular refinery units using this technology. We are backed by some of the world's largest energy companies and top Silicon Valley venture capitalists. We will discuss the company's trajectory from infancy to present status.

Cool Planet Energy Systems and the production of carbon negative fuels

245th National Meeting (2013)

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