There has been a continuing rise in the global demand for liquid transport fuels. Biomass is the only carbon containing resource in sustainable energy, and the new process route for dimethyl ether (DME)-to-gasoline offers a desired solution. At present, there are industrial demonstrations for one-step synthesis of DME from syngas, methanol to gasoline and fischer-tropsch synthesis at home and abroad. However, they are coal-based syngas technologies.
The Thermo-chemical Conversion group at Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Professor Wu Jinhu, developed a new Biomass-to-Oil (BTL) technology route. The whole process is simple, the synthesis for DME and oil production will be conducted in the same reaction pressure and circulating operation, and the carbon resource utilization and oil quality can be ensured by the optimization of process conditions. The economy of this technical route can be improved by the optimization for the whole system.
Professor Wu’s group has designed and set up the pilot experiment platform comprises Biomass Gasification, One-step synthesis of DME from syngas, and DME to gasoline and diesel. In addition, after a long and systematic study, the group has independently developed the catalyst for DME to gasoline.
After times of single-tube experiments and pilot research in 2013, the group has solved the technical bottlenecks in scale-up process. This project realized the gasoline synthesis via DME from the laboratory scale to pilot scale that the productivity is 100 tons of gasoline per year. The results are as follow: the DME conversion rate is 100%, gasoline yield is 40-45%, and oil production reached 12-15Kg per hour. These technical indexes are higher than that of expected.
At present, the group is conducting follow-up research to constantly improve the technology package. The technology, gasoline and diesel synthesis from bio-syngas, is moving forward to industrial application.
The project “gasoline and diesel synthesis from bio-syngas via dimethyl ether (DME)" is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and CAS Strategy Guide Special Program. This research content has also been included in QIBEBT’s major cultivating directions.
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| The oil synthesis pilot experiment platform | The developed catalyst and the produced oil | Oil discharge in the site |
| Image by Prof. WU's group |
References:
1. A ZSM-5/MCM-48 based catalyst for methanol to gasoline conversion [J]. Fuel, 2013, 104: 878-881.
2. ZL 201210030086.3. The preparation and application of the catalyst for the dimethyl ether synthesis
3. CN 201310090751.2. The preparation and application of the nanocrystals Fe/ZSM-5 zeolite.
4. CN 201310081690.3. The preparation and application of the ZSM-5/MCM-48 composite material
Contact:
Professor WU Jinhu
Email: wujh (AT) qibebt.ac.cn
