Biojet Fuels from Nonedible Bio-oils and Cellulosic Biomass

The proposed program addresses the emerging needs for the Navy to have cost effective alternative liquid transportation biofuels. The main objectives are to produce bio-jet and bio-diesel fuels from cellulosic biomass and nonedible bio-oils and demonstrate that they have cost structure and product quality comparable to petroleum based fuels. Novel concepts in processing, reactor design and catalyst systems are employed in this integrated approach to convert cellulosic biomass of any type and nonedible bio-oils of any type into bio-jet fuel. Feedstock flexibility offers significant cost and logistic advantages to this approach. Unlike other processes, which use only the oil derived from a plant, this proposal uses the entire plant as feedstock source. The proposed approach can also convert the more challenging lignocellulosic component. Through molecular manipulations, the proposed approach allows the production of “designer” biofuels. The technology offers a means to tailor product properties through saturation of double bonds to give better shelf life, cracking long chain hydrocarbons to maximize the yield of the jet cut, controlling aromatics content of the jet cut for better combustion characteristics, and isomerization to improve ignition characteristics and for better cold flow properties of the fuel.