2010 R&D 100 Winner
In a famous scene from the movie Back to the Future, Doc Brown returned from the future and proceeded to refuel his time-traveling Delorean with a little garbage loaded into something called a Mr. Fusion.
Biodiesel is not exactly Mr. Fusion, but it is already a desirable and green alternative to fossil fuel combustion. However, manufacturing it cheaply hasn’t been easy.
A new Supercritical/Solid Catalyst (SSC) Biodiesel Production Process from Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, produces high-quality (ASTM) biodiesel (B100) fuel from brown and black greases and other waste fats, oils, and greases. The key difference from other conventional biodiesel production technologies is that SSC does not require the input of avid or base catalysts.
The underlying chemistry of this technology combines the use of non-toxic supercritical fluid solvents with a heterogeneous solid catalyst to achieve a highly efficient, rapid, and robust biodiesel production reaction with the widest range of oils of any biodiesel conversion process. The resulting B100 fuel burns more completely, reducing unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter by at least half. SSC can handle polluted and watery waste greases with up to 100% free fatty acid (FFA) content, greater than 30% water content, and high levels of impurities such as sulfur, phosporous, and calcium.
In addition, BioFuelBox, Inc., San Jose, Calif., an energy research company, in 2009 demonstrated the viability of SSC in a small, modular refinery, showing a capacity of 3,000 gallons per day.
Technology
Biodiesel catalysis process
Developers
Idaho National Laboratory
Development Team
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| (l-r): Lucia M. Petkovic, Daniel S. Wendt, Robert V. Fox, Daniel M. Ginosar |
Supercritical/Solid Catalyst (SSC) Biodiesel Production Process Development Team from Idaho National Laboratory:
Robert V. Fox
Daniel M. Ginosar
Lucia M. Petkovic
Daniel S. Wendt
