BeauTi-fueLTM: A Biomass To Fuels

Concept

Prof Diane Hildebrandt and Prof David Glasser

COMPS , University of the Witwatersrand

What is our challenge?

• To use our combined technology, research skills and expertise to benefit South Africa and Africa and particularly improve the quality of life of South Africans

The African Equation: Quality of life = Access to energy

• Access to energy and quality of life are linked

• In order to improve the quality of life of Africa we need to be able to supply energy reliably, cheaply and efficiently

• By energy we mean electricity and transportation fuel

The African Conundrum:

Access to energy = Increased CO2 emissions?

• The challenge of supply affordable energy comes at a time when there are limits being put on CO2 emissions

• South Africa is a coal based economy – how do we supply energy and limit the CO2 impacts?

Energy for the People?

We need to work together

to • improve energy

efficiency of processes using less and different resources with less pollution

• provide cheaper energy to more people

• provide jobs

What are the potential energy resources to solve the problem?

• Agricultural waste and/or excess from the

– sugar industry

– paper industry

– farming activities

• Old Tyres

• Municipal wastes

– Sewage

– Rubbish dumps

Introduction to COMPS

• Based at the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa

• Provide multidisciplinary project solutions to industry using resources from across the University

• We are regarded as world leaders in a number of areas: – Reactor design

– Separation design

– Process Design for improved process efficiency

COMPS FT Technology COMPS Developed a Novel Fischer – Tropsch Technology with:

• Lower carbon dioxide emissions

• More scalable technology

• More flexible technology

• Reduced water requirements

• Economically competitive process

Technology Risk?

• Individual unit are all conventional

• Interconnections between units are novel

– Simpler than current commercial technology

• This new technology is thus low risk

FT Synthesis Gasification

Liquid Products

C1 to C4,

CO and H2

Air

Gas Cleanup

S

Electricity Generation

Previous COMPS Projects

Golden Nest /CCT

•Commissioned 2008

•In operation for 18 months

•Two commercial implementations of the technology

• Located at BaoDan Ammonia Plant Shaanxi, China

COMPS involvement in GNFT

• Detailed Conceptual design

• Feasibility study

• Reactor construction

• Basic Engineering

• Engineering

• Project Management

• Commissioning

• Operation and data analysis Plant 3D model

Linc Energy Demo Plant, Australia

• Located in Chinchilla

• Successfully commissioned

• Plan for commercial plant under way

• World first for combining UG and FT

Australian Project – Linc Energy

• UCG derived Syngas (CTL)

• Australia’s best performing stock in 2008

• Multiple implementations under discussion.

BTL: Floor Scale Demonstration Plant

• Joint NRF and MOST funded Project

• Based at Herbei University

• Gasifier is commercial scale

• Using wood chips as feed

• Converting this into synthetic crude

The BeauTi-fueLTM Concept in Partnership with Necsa

• Feed to the process is Biomass

– Agricultural waste; Cellulosic material

• Product is synthetic crude and electricity

• The idea is to uplift and make small communities self sufficient in energy

• The plant will be simple and robust to operate

The BeauTifueLTM Technology

• The scale of the plant is of the order of 1 ton of dry biomass/day

• Produce 1 barrel/day and 0.5 MWh of electricity per day

• The plant will be designed to fit into a container so that it can be transported on a truck

• This will be a prototype to demonstrate the concept, optimise and get more reliable data for implementation

The modular approach

• A new approach is to build smaller modular plants.

• These have the advantages of being – less capital intensive,

– more flexible and

– having a faster time-to-market

• Later modules can incorporate newer ideas

• Good for managing risk

• Get higher efficiency by being able to incorporate new ideas

The Business Case

• Capital Cost R4.5 million – If BeauTi-fueL containers are built in bulk this cost could

be reduced considerably

• Opex R0.5 million pa – If catalyst could be manufacture in bulk, this cost could

be reduced considerably

• Cost of Fuel Produced – At syncrude prices R 0.25 million pa – At pump prices R 0.65 million pa

• If government helps with tax breaks and/or allowing fuel to be sold at taxed rate, then economics look favourable.

Implementing Technology: The Project Cycle

Time

Mature Research Deployment Development Demonstration

Perc

eive

d R

isk

The COMPS Technologies Courtesy Geoff Whitfield, Univ Sydney

0.00000

0.45000

-6 8

Research Development Demonstration Deployment Mature technology

Nippon GTL: 2009 500 bpd

Shenhua Energy: 2009 17,000 bpd Direct CTL

ExxonMobil: MTG JAMG

Mobil:MTG

Sasol: Indirect CTL

Synfuels: non-FT GTL

Velocycs: microchannel

Oxford Catalysts

Topsoe: TIGAS

Lurgi: GTL.F1

JOGMEC: non-FT

CSIRO: catalysis

Mitsui Chemicals: methanol

NEDO: BCL + upgrading Marathon Oil: GTF

Cougar Energy: UCG

Linc Energy: UCG Altona-CNOOC: CTL Syngas Ltd: BCTL

University of Sydney: small-scale hydrogen

SOLHYCARB

MHI: CO2 emissions-free plant

CSIRO: CTL, GTL

Project Elevation-to-Practice Timeline

Y-axis: perceived risk of achieving Return on Capital Expended (ROCE) at full-scale

COMPS gas-coal coprocessing

How will we fund the BeauTifueLTM project?

Time

Mature Research Deployment Development Demonstration

Perc

eive

d R

isk We are here

Funding requirement

R1M

We need to get here

Funding Requirement R50M

Demonstration cost R10M

Funding Sources

Time

Mature Research Deployment Development Demonstration

Perc

eive

d R

isk •Universities

typically work here. •Low cost, high risk •Funding Agencies: NRF, THRIP, SANERI, ...

•Industry Typically

works here •High cost,

but reduced

risk •Funding Agencies:

TIA, DST, ..?

How do we cross this barrier?

Venture Capitalists? Government?

Overseas?

The value of IP as a commodity

Time

Mature Research Deployment Development Demonstration

IP V

alu

e

•To raise funding at this stage we have to sell future rights on IP

•Puts the University in a weak position to negotiate

•This funding often comes from overseas

•As a result IP may leave the country

Conclusions

• In order to improve the lives of Africans, we need to supply cheap and renewable electricity and fuel

• In order to do this we will need to consider new feedstocks

• We will need to develop new technologies to utilise these feedstocks

• We need Universities, Governments and Industry to work together to make this possible.

Conclusions

• There is a gap in funding between Universities, Government and Industry

• Means University forced to sell IP and future IP rights to accommodate perceived risk

• We need to look at how we can develop a model where new technologies are funded until the stage where they are more mature so that the IP is not sold too early.

Sustainability through technical expertise