Sustainable Cellulosic Base-Oils

The global lubricant market size is ~$158 billion. Base-oils constitute the major component in formulated lubricants, which have uses in automotive, process oils, metal-working, marine, mining, locomotive, chainsaw, golf cart, hydraulic fluids, grease and other consumer and industrial sectors. ~97% of current base oils are petroleum derived. Their accidental release to the environment poses a significant monetary and regulatory concern to the users, local, State and Federal Government, regulatory bodies, and environmental advocates. Environmental regulations and the growing demand for sustainable lubricants to mitigate regulatory pain and improve energy efficiency, fuel economy and carbon footprint have driven development of bio-based base-oils. Currently, ~3% base-oils are produced from vegetable oils. The presence of ester linkages in their molecular structures renders their low oxidation stability and high hydrolytic susceptibility, resulting in narrow applications. Thus, development of bio-based base-oils with necessary stability for industrial and consumer applications is desirable. RiKarbon Inc. is commercializing this technology to produce 100% bio-based and upcycled cellulosic base- oils (CBO), which are structurally and property-wise similar to commercial petroleum-derived poly-a- olefin (PAO) base-oils. PAO is currently used in industrial lubricants, automotive lubricants, gear oils, compressor oils, engine oils, hydraulic fluids, marine lubricants, greases, and functional fluids. Thus, our CBO can be used as a direct replacement for current PAOs to mitigate regulations and help achieve CO2 reduction goals. The technology entails (1) catalytic coupling of biorefinery raw materials, produced from waste biomass, with natural oils derived ketones to build CBO precursors and (2) catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of the precursors to branched chain hydrocarbon base oils. It will (1) mitigate regularity challenges, (2) utilize waste feedstock to produce base oils for the existing applications, (3) enable cellulosic biorefinery sustainable, (4) reduce carbon emissions, and (5) promote economic diversity by unitizing feedstock grown in rural areas. In Phase I, we studied the activity of inexpensive heterogeneous catalysts for CBO production, optimized the process to enable CBO production cost-competitive, measured key specifications of CBO to determine applications, and completed initial economic analysis. In Phase II, we will enhance catalysts’ performance by optimizing their active sites to enable CBO production efficient. Other technical objectives are: (1) study individual reaction steps in flow reactors, (2) develop CBO’s continuous manufacturing process, (3) scale up the process, (4) develop formulation recipes for CBO for end-users, (5) evaluate and validate performance of formulated CBO for end-use markets, (6) complete regulatory compliance, and (7) perform economic and life-cycle analyses for the manufacturing process. RiKarbon anticipates commercialization of this technology by the end of the Phase II through partnerships with current lubricants manufacturers.