Diesel fuel and blendstocks produced sustainably from low-carbon feedstocks have the potential to improve the performance of conventional and advanced diesel engines. In order to realize these potential benefits, a tiered screening process was developed and used to efficiently screen thousands of candidate blendstocks potentially derived from waste or biomass. Criteria were established to screen candidates on the basis of safety, operability, and performance. Key properties included cetane number, energy density, flash point, sooting propensity, and low temperature properties (pour point, cloud point and freezing point). Six blendstocks—five hydrocarbons and one ester including 2 market fuels—were identified with the potential to reduce emissions with no or minor barriers to adoption. They were fatty acid methyl esters (also called biodiesel), hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (also called renewable diesel), farnesane, hydrothermal liquefaction bio-oils derived from sewage sludge, algae, and algae/wood blends,<br/>an isoalkane mixture catalytically derived from ethanol, and an isoalkane mixture produced by catalytic conversion of volatile fatty acids produced from food waste. Five ether blendstocks were determined to have significant potential to reduce emissions with additional research and development needed to overcome at least one significant barrier to adoption and use. Each of these 11 blendstocks or families of blendstocks has the potential to be produced at a competitive cost and reduce GHG emissions by at least 60%. Eight additional blendstocks have analysis gaps that prevented a full determination of their potential to improve fuel properties while reducing emissions; these analyses are ongoing. Barriers identfied include compatibility, oxidative stability, and energy density.

Screening and identification of diesel bio-blendstocks to improve performance and reduce emissions

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.