The solar thermal fuels and chemicals program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory are described. High technology is developed and applied to displace fossil fuel (oil) use in the production/processing of valuable fuels and chemicals. The technical and economic feasibility is demonstrated to extent that enables the industry to participate and commercialize the product. A representative process, namely Furfural production with a bottoming of acetone, butanol and ethanol, is described. Experimental data from all solar production of furfural is discussed. Estimates are given to show the attractiveness of this process, considering its flexibility to be adaptable to dishes, troughs or central receivers. Peat, lignite and low rank coal processing, heavy oil stripping and innovative technologies for process diagnostics and control are mentioned as examples of current projects under intensive development

Ramohalli, K.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT - FUELSt 
Kumar Ramoha 11 i 
Chemical and B io log i ca l  Processes Section 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, C a l i f o r n i a  I n s t i t u t e  of Technology 
ABSTRACT - - 
This paper describes the so la r  thermal fuels and rhemicals program a t  
JPL. The primary ob jec t ive  i s  t o  develop and apply hiph technoloay t o  
displace f o s s i l  fuel  ( o i  1) use i n  the product ion/process ing of valuable fuels  
and chemicals: i t  i c  the aim t o  demonstrate the technical  and economic 
feas ib i l  i t y  t o  an extent tha t  enables the industry  t o  p a r t i c i p a t e  and 
commerc i a l  i ze  the product. A representat ive process. ~ a m e l y  Fur fu ra l  
production w i th  a bottoming o f  acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE), i s  
described. Experimental data from a1 ; solar  product ion of f u r f u r a l  i s  
discussed. Estimates are given t o  show the at t ract iveness of t h i s  process 
espec ia l l y  considerina i t s  f l e x i b i l i t y  t'b be adaptable t o  dishes, troughs or  
cent ra l  receivers. Peat, 1 i g n i t e  and low rank coal processing, heavy o i l  
s t r i p p i n p  and innovat ive technolooies for process diaanost i cs  and con t ro l  are 
mentioned as examples o f  current  p ro jec ts  under in tensive development. 
FURFURAL AND ABE BOTTOKING 
As pa r t  of the SUNFUELS proarar sponsored by the U.S. D~partment o f  
Eneray, JPL has demonstrated the technical  f e a s i b i l  i t y  o f  producina 1 i q u i d  
fuels.  The general philosophy has been one of maximizing the u t i l i t y  o f  the 
so la r  appl icat ion;  insthad o f  producina one fue l  or one chemical i n  the 
process, s e v ~ r a l  fue ls  and chemicals are produced i n  the ove ra l l  process. A 
b r i e f  descr ip t ion  o f  the hackpround, proven t e s t  resu l t s  and the fu tu re  p lan 
i s  ou t l i ned  here. 
Solar energy processed fue ls  and chemicals are expected t o  qain 
prominence i n  the mid (19F5-1930) and the long (2000) ran? +:rture o f  the 
United States i f  not the world. Solar eneroy processed f: wid chemicals 
are o f  course ava i lab le  i n  nature as p lants and der iva t ives .  I n  an attempt. 
t o  i d e n t i f y  t ranspwtab le  and storable l i o u i d  fuels and t o  displace f o s s i l  
fue ls  (Example: imporied o i l )  i n  t h e i r  p roces ing ,  FUPFURAL i s  i d e n t i f i e d  as 
an important candidate: conventional f u r f u r a l  production from biomass i s  seen 
t o  o f fe r  p o s s i b i l i t i e s  of si i iwltaneously producing valuable alcohols and 
acetone a t  l i t t ' e  ex t ra  enerciy cost.  
A t  the present time 10' ki lograms (72 x 10' l b . )  of f u r f u r a l  are 
produced i n  the U.S.A. annually. P r a c t i c a l l y  a l l  of t h i s  i s  produced by 
Quaker Oats. The feedstock i s  biomass tha t  have hemicelluloses i n  them 
(corncobs, peanut shel ls ,  s o f t  woods.. . . ) .  The theore t ica l  traximum y i e l d  i s  
i n  the range o f  10% - 20% by weight o f  the feedstock. Fur fu ra l  can be used 
as a 1 i qu id  fue l  (= 5550 kcal/kg o r  10,000 Btu/ lb.  o f  enerqy release upon 
complete combustion i n  a i r ) ,  although there e x i s t  more valuable uses such as 
feedstock f o r  furan resins. (The Germans used fu r fu ra l  as a Diesel f ue l  
3 Work funded by DOE a n m k ? % e a a a t  JPL as par t  o f  NASA Contract NAS7-100. 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19810022012 2020-03-21T09:44:43+00:00Z
dur ing  t he  second World War. ) The 19R0 p r i c e  i s  nea r l y  I$ /kg  o r  ($0.45 per  
pound). It takes n e a r l y  9992 k c a l l l i t  (150,000 Btu per g a l l o n )  of f u r f u r a l  
produced. The feedstock i s  ac i d  hydrolyzed and steam "cooked" t o  re lease  the  
f u r f u r a l  which i s  subsequently ex t rac ted  from the  water by  dichloromethane. 
Hence. t h  use o f  s o l a r  profyced steam i n  t he  process would d isp lace  a t  l e a s t  
0.75 x  l o f2  k c s l l y r  ( 3  x  10 B tu / y r )  wor th  of f o s s l l  f u e l s  (mos t l y  
o i l  and na tu ra l  gas i n  t h e  U.S.A.). This number o f  0.003 Quad*/yr i s  j u s t  
t h e  p rove rb i a l  t i p  o f  t he  iceberg. 
The ac i d  hyd ro l ys i s  process ( w i t h  t y p i c a l l y  5% d i l u t e  H SO ) 4 prepares t he  c e l l u l o s i c  p o r t i o n  o f  the b io feedstock a lso  idea l  o r  
fermentat i on  t o  acetone, butanol  and ethanol  ( c a l l e d  ABE, fo r  s h o r t ) .  Since 
the  c e l l u l o s i c  p o r t i o n  cons is ts  o f  a t  l e a s t  50% of the t y p i c a l  feedstock, 
wh i le  the  hemice l lu lose i s  t y p i c a l l y  15%, the  product breakdowr~ may be 
expected t o  be: 
0.15 kg F u r f u r a l  
0.45 kg o f  a lcohols  
0.2 kg of so l  i d  spent mass 
per  k i logram o f  feedstock. Even i f  the  d i f f  ?rence (0.2 kg i s  not  4 O. 5 ,  x  2 x 108 x recovered, 0.45 kg. o f  a lcohols  y i e l d  an equiva lent  o f  (m
4 10 = 0.006 Quad/yr i n  energy. The s o l i d  spent mass can be used as 
c a t t l e f e e d  a f t e r  d e a c i d i f i c a t i o n ,  o r  j u s t  burned t o  augment the  steam 
productiam. This ABE "bottomer" a lso  enables the product ion o f  f u r f u r a l  on a  
continuous has is  (as  opposed t o  so l a r  dependence always). Thus 0.009, o r  
n e a r l y  0.01 Quadlyr .  i s  the  t no lon tun  f o s s i l  energy displacement t o  be 
expected. 
With t he  dwind!inp petroleum suppl ies  the  f u r f u r a l  der ived chemicals can 
poss ib l y  prov ide t he  p l a s t i c s  feedstock and pseudo aromatics. --- 
H - C - C - H  
I! 11 FURFCRAL 
H - C  C - C H O  
\ / 
0 
The chrrnical s t ructur -e  o f  f u r f u r a l  suggests t h a t  f u r f u r a l  cou ld  be a 
p o t e n t i a l  a d d i t i v e  t o  enqine f u e l s  f o r  knock suppression. A f t e r  the 
e l  im ina t ion  o f  t e t r ae thy l ead  from the  fuels, aromatics are he ing used t o  
r a i s e  t he  octane numbers t o  acceptable values. With t ke  na tu ra l  petroleum 
der ived aromatics becoming i nc reas ing l y  expensive, f u r f u r a l  could r i s e  t o  
meet the  demands. Even a t  a  conservat ive r a t e  o f  1% add i t t on  t o  gasol ine 
( syn the t i c  o r  n a t u r a l )  the demand f o r  f r f u r a  i n  f u r f u r a l  de r i ved  pseudo 
aromat ics) p o t e n t i a l l y  i s  seen t o  be 10' - 10'O(kglyr .  
THE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS 
Fur fu ra l  product ion requires stean i n  the pressure ran  e of 3.4-6.8 atm 
(50-100 p s i )  and temperature range o f  422433°K (300'-500°F 3 . Typ ica l l y  30 
kg o f  steam are used per kg o f  f u r f u r a l  produced o r  30 kg f o r  near ly  7 kg cf 
feedstock. These ra ther  m i l d  condit ions show tha t  the process s t e m  can be 
obtained by trouqhs, dishes, o r  cen t ra l  receivers. This f l e x i b i l  i t y  i s  
p a r t i c u l a r l y  valuable considering tha t  the solar  c o l l e c t o r  technology ( v i z ,  
troughs vs CR's vs. dishes) has not been f ina l i zed yet.  
THE RUNS AT JPL 
Four successful runs were conducted at JPL (Pasadena) w i t h  9.08 kg (20 
1 b )  feedstock o f  coracobs each and e l e c t r i c a l  l y  produced steam. The pressure 
and temperatures used were 3.4 atm (50 psig) and 422°K (300°F). The runs 
lasted 1-1 112 hrs. E l e c t r i c a l  preheat was used t o  ra i se  the temperature 
before the  steain cooking. 
A f te r  these i n i t i a l  t es t s  the reactor  was t i e d  t o  the steam generator at 
the  Test Bed Concentrator - 1 at the  Edwards Test Stat ion a t  JPL. This a l l  
b a h t  production o f  f u r f u r a l  was h igh l y  successful even a t  the very f i r s t  
attempt. It should be mentioned tha t  the design capaci ty  o f  80 kw (thermal) 
o f  TBC-1 was f a r  i n  excess o f  the small reactor  requirements. One ha l f  o f  
the r e f l e c t o r  area was blocked of f  during t h i s  run. 
FUTURE PLANS 
The reactor  ex i s t s  t a  handle near ly  10 k~ feedstock per batch. The runs 
l a s t  t y p i c a l l y  1-2 hrs. A reactor  proper ly  matched t o  the TBC i s  i n  design 
and w i l l  be matched w i th  the TBC-1 l a t e r  i n  FY81. Runs w i l l  be conducted at 
the t r o u ~ h  fac i 1 i ty o f  Albuquerque, New Mexico. Process opt  irnizat ions w i  11 
be performed. ?he f u r f u r a l  w i l l  be t r i e d  as a fuel i n  the d iesel  enaine and 
as a fue l  add i t i ve  i n  a gasoline engine. Fermentation of the spent mass i s  
i n  progress t o  prove the ABE process. 
TRANSITORY SUMMARY ON THE FURFURAL PROCESSES 
It i s  i n te res t i ng  t o  note tha t  a f t e r  the JPL e f f o r t  oot underway tt-,~ ee
imoortant developtrents have taken place w i th  regard t o  fu r fu ra l  i n  the 
world. 
1. Cetus CorportPlon and Standard O i l  o f  Ca l i f o rn ia  have entered an 
apreecet-~t t o  produce large quan t i t i es  o f  f u r fu ra l  . The product ion i s  
expected t o  s t a r t  i n  the next three years ( r e f .  Chem. Enq. 28 July  
1980). 
2. Mi tsubishi  Company i n  Japan i s  s e t t i n g  up a hupe p lan t  i n  Japan for 
making a de r i va t i ve  o f  f u r f u r a l  ( te t rahydrofuran) .  
3. Ouaker Oaks and I I T R I  have j o i n t l y  submitted t o  3PL a proposal for a 
f e a s i b i l  i t y  demonstrat ion o f  so la r i za t i on  o f  f u r f u r a l  product ion on a 
commercial basis. 
The fu tu re  looks b r i g h t  f o r  f u r f u r a l .  
LOW RANK COAL, PEAT AND LIGNITE PROCESSING 
I t  i s  estimated tha t  the deposits i n  the USA correspond t o  1443 quads of 
peat, 3082 quads o f  1 i g n i t e  and 3534 quads o f  subbituminous ( low rank) coals 
(Ref. 1). The high moisture content ( f requent ly  i n  excess of 50% by weight) 
o f  these fue ls  poses specia l  problems. Transportat ion i n  wet form i s  not 
economical and dry ing them inva r iab l y  introduces severe problems o f  
spontaneous r e a c t i v i t y .  Ut il i z i n g  the energy content o f  the peat11 i g n i t e 1  
low rank coal t o  process them would diminish t h e i r  heat ing value. A process 
i s  sought t o  obviate a l l  o f  these problems simultaneously. 
An *innovative prccess developed a t  JPL i s  shown i n  F ig .  1 here. The 
as-mined mater ia l  i s  inixed w i th  a heat t rans fer  f l u i d  i n  which i t  i s  wet 
pround. The heat i s  suppl ied i n  a heat exchanger tha t  c i r cu la tes  so la r  
steam. A f l ash  separator pets out the high BTU vapors which can be d i r e c t l y  
fed i n t o  a gas pipe1 ine or  used as a feedstock for  makdnp 1 i qu id  fuels. 
Prel iminary economics ca lcu la t ions  show tha t  3.25 x 10- Kca1/1000 kg can be 
recovered i n  transportable, s torable high BTU fue l  w i th  t h i s  so lar  ass is t  
process. Laboratory experiments are underway t o  prove the process. 
HEAVY OIL STRIPPING 
The solar  derived steam i s  i d e a l l y  su i ted for the s t r i p p i n p  o f  heavy o i l  
tha t  occurs i n  a d i s t r i b u t e d  manner i n  many par ts  of the  U.S.A. (example: 
Ca l i f o rn ia ) .  A reactor  i s  being b u i l t  t o  u t i l i z e  the TBC-1 steam at 811°K 
(1000F) f o r  t h i s  purpose. It i s  expected tha t  the same reactor  can be used f o r  
processing synthet i c  crudes also. 
INNOVATIVE PROCESS DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS 
Acoustic imaging i s  being developed t o  diagnose i n  real - t ime loca 
d e t a i l s  i n  processps. The acoustic f i e l d  can be mapped l o c a l l y  w i th  
non- in te r fe r ing  E l  1 ipso ida l  Acoustic Mi r ro r  Kcrophones (EAMM). Detai 
spa t i a l  and temporal resolut ions are being worked out. 
REFERENCE 
1. Skrotzky and Vopat, Power Sta t ion  Engineering and Economy, McGraw 
pp. 16-17 (1960). 
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Advanced development: Fuels

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