As a greater focus is put on renewable fuels to help reduce the carbon emissions from the transportation fleet, research to optimize fuels simultaneously with engines is underway. We have identified target fuel compounds that can be sustainably produced and distributed within the current fuels infrastructure to improve engine performance and reduce fossil fuel consumption. To overcome issues related to highly variable feedstock composition, our group has developed strategies for utilization of multiple substrates, including lignocellulosic sugars and amino acids from proteinaceous waste biomass, for bioconversion into branched C4 and C5 alcohols.  However, significant challenges related to product separations and fuels upgrading have been identified by technoeconomic analysis to be major cost drivers likely to limit market adoption.  Therefore, we have recently pursued research toward low cost isolation of biofuel intermediates, chemical upgrading of the intermediates to finished fuels,  and testing for both spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engine architectures.  Our data demonstrate that branched C4 and C5 alcohols show significant potential as blending agents due to their high octane number as well as their low corrosivity and high energy density, particularly when blended optimally with other renewable fuel compounds. Furthermore, our results indicate that these compounds are not only valuable as drop-in fuels for spark ignition engines, but also can also be chemically upgraded to fatty acid-esters, aceto-esters, and ethers.  Whereas the neat fusel alcohols and aceto-esters display excellent properties in SI engines, the fatty acid esters and ethers show similar promise for CI engines, indicating that substantial fuels tunability can be attained from a single renewable product stream. Specifically, branched C4 and C5 alcohols can be reacted with one another to form ethers or with low quality lipidic feedstocks for production of fatty acid esters that show improved fuel qualities such as a higher cetane number and improved cold flow properties as compared to traditional fatty acid methyl ester biodiesel products. This research demonstrates great promise for C4 and C5 alcohols, along with other compounds of interest, as drop in fuels, blending agents, or chemical intermediates for more advanced biofuel products all with the potential to significantly impact the transportation fuel market.<br/>

Production, blending, and upgrading of advanced renewable fuels for the co-optimization of fuels and engines

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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