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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - KEROGREEN (Production of Sustainable aircraft grade Kerosene from water and air powered by Renewable Electricity, through the splitting of CO2, syngas formation and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis)

Teaser

Summary

Aviation currently accounts for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. Kerosene consumption is set to grow between 2.5% and 3.5%/yr over the next 30 years, hence will more than double in 2050. Aviation was exempted from the UNFCCC Paris 2015 agreement and delegated to ICAO who came up with CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) pledging to freeze CO2 emission at the 2020 level from 2021 onward. ICAO realises that CORSIA targets are unlikely to be met by incremental fuel efficiency improvement, indeed require development of radically new sustainable alternative fuel technology.
Batteries and Hydrogen are free of carbon emission during operation, however, suffer from low power density compared with hydrocarbon fuel, which limits their energy storage capacity. Hence, long haul passenger flight powered by hydrogen or by batteries is unlikely to become feasible by 2050. Current EU policy is directed at biofuels. Yet, with a staggering 5 million barrels of kerosene needed per day for jet fuel alone, a solution solely based on biofuels will be faced with the Fuel vs. Food vs. Flora trilemma and therefore is unlikely to gain public acceptance.
Carbon Neutral Fuels developed by KEROGREEN offer a third way to curb CO2 emissions. Synthesised from air captured CO2 and H2O powered by renewable electricity, it yields a net-zero CO2 emission cycle. Being Fischer-Tropsch synthesised, the fuel is ASTM certified as jet grade fuel at 50% blending ratio. Because the synthesised kerosene emits no soot and no Sulphur, it meets future aviation air pollution standards. Vast energy storage capacity opens up to the electricity system by dynamically converting surplus renewable electricity into high energy density liquid fuel. The conversion technology couples the power sector to the oil, gas and chemical sectors, Power to X (P2X). Furthermore, CO is a valuable intermediate product. KEROGREEN features on-site CO production in container sized modules providing inherent safety by avoiding hazardous surface transport. Compact sized KEROGREEN equipment close coupled to an off-shore wind turbine or a remote solar array will produce Carbon Neutral Fuel on-site, delivered to point of use by inexpensive conventional pipelines.

Work performed

The project is well underway with all participants fully engaged. Experimental and theoretical work on CO2 plasmolysis has advanced the understanding of splitting CO2. A new plasma model has been developed and validated against experimental results obtained from a 1 kW lab scale plasma reactor. Based on these experimental results, the design and assembly of the 6 kW pilot scale module is in hand. The main challenge is to enhance both CO2 conversion ratio and energy efficiency. For the KEROGREEN pilot plant, an optimised CO yield has been adopted as baseline. Based on this, the CO purification unit was designed, built and certified.
The main challenge during this 1st Reporting Period has been oxygen separation from the CO2, CO, O2 gas mixture by means of an oxygen selective Solid Oxide Electrolyte Cell (SOEC). The innovative aspect lies with the integration of SOEC-based oxygen removal and CO2 plasmolysis. Cutting-edge research on a bench-top reactor shows first experimental proof of plasma-integrated oxygen removal by means of a perovskite-based electrolyser cell. The work is supported by DFT computations that have led to a down selection of suitable perovskite materials. Further down selection will to produce a candidate list of novel SOEC electrode materials for experimental validation. System integration will proceed on the basis of a modified commercial SOEC stack for full scale oxygen removal.
The Water Gas Shift (WGS), Fischer-Tropsch (FT) and Hydro-Cracking (HC) sub-system ventures agile kerosene synthesis suitably scaled to intermittent supply of renewable electricity (RE), as opposed to the steady state GW scale slurry bubble FT plants of today. First results of a micro-structured high heat transfer FT module show 17% to 100% load flexibility as compared with 70-100% dynamic range of conventional plants. Mechanical size is an order of magnitude smaller allowing integration in a container sized module close coupled to the RE source. First experimental results of a three stage system yield a broad alkene fraction narrowed down by hydrocracking and containing isomers for desired cold flow properties of jet-grade kerosene.
A chemical pathway analysis has identified optimal process integration scenarios for the individual elements of the KEROGREEN process chain from where the most promising routes for in-depth calculations were selected. Input-Output Constraint (IOC) charts have established module sizes and system interfaces for all sub-systems. Sustainability studies have commenced by establishing the framework and methodology for assessment and definition of technical parameters for both KEROGREEN and alternative technologies for sustainable kerosene production. Modelling and data generation is currently in hand. Results will be set against fossil kerosene from crude oil.
Communication and Dissemination activities include the production of a KEROGREEN brochure, an up to date website, a leaflet, a newsletter and posters. A number of targeted dissemination actions include KEROGREEN presentations at international conferences and European networks such as EERA. Furthermore, engagement with stakeholders including local airports and kerosene production and trading companies resulted in visibility of the KEROGREEN project and its EU funding basis.

Final results

Recently, sustainable aviation has attracted much media attention. Air passengers feel uncomfortable at taking leisure flights, companies are concerned about their CO2 footprint from air travel and airlines advertise their CO2 compensation schemes. Is there a way out of this modern age dilemma?
KEROGREEN meets the CORSIA requirement by producing Carbon Neutral Aviation Fuel. The concept benefits from already existing infra structure for fuel storage, transport and distribution while using existing jet engine technology. The production target of 0.1 kg/hr kerosene exceeds lab scale yield and allows identification of critical elements in the process chain progressing beyond State-of-the Art.
The chemical pathway analysis shows that thermal and material integration between the individual units is key to maximising energy and carbon efficiency. Recirculation of unreacted CO2 and product gases would reach over 90% conversion of CO2 to liquid fuels in an integrated KEROGREEN process.
Preparation and building of the KEROGREEN container sized plant is in hand. Individual units will be integrated for proof-of-concept at system level and will allow identification of the main system bottlenecks. A market survey and business plan will identify the route to KEROGREEN upscaling, its potential applications and its impact on society. Current analysis indicates that the KEROGREEN approach has significant market impact provided both price of CO2 emission and KEROGREEN process efficiency go up.