READi-PtL

Verification of the process steps of the two-stage PtL technology

A successful climate-neutral energy transition requires two things in order to sustainably reduce CO2 emissions: the efficient storage of excess renewable energy and its use in the mobility sector, among others. The X-Energy sub-project READi-PtL has pursued this goal by linking the electricity and mobility sectors.  To this end, organic residues (frying fat) and electrolysis hydrogen were converted into liquid hydrocarbon in the two-stage READiTM process.

The aim was for hydrocarbons to achieve a drop-in quality to conventional fuels, i.e. to have the same quality in order to replace them in the long term. Thereby also the limitations of conventional biofuels with regard to blending into conventional fuels are being overcome.

The aim is to include the mobility sector in a climate-neutral energy transition without short-term changes to current technical drive systems or infrastructures.

The solution lies in the development of a new and cost-effective two-stage technology. In the first stage, bio-oils are obtained thermochemically from sustainable triglyceride-containing resources (e.g. used cooking oils). In the second stage, these are then refined into liquid hydrocarbons using hydrogen obtained from electricity. This in turn forms the basis for usable fuel products.

The process engineering basis of the first stage is the READiTM process, a new, particularly cost-effective thermochemical process for converting biogenic problematic and waste materials into bio-oils, which can be processed into drop-in fuels with comparatively little effort. The READiTM process is a joint development of the Competence Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) at HAW Hamburg and the partner company Nexxoil.

Results

The READiTM process is a new, particularly cost-effective thermochemical process for converting problematic and waste materials containing hydrocarbons into bio-oils, which are then refined in a second stage using hydrogen to produce liquid hydrocarbons such as diesel. The process was successfully verified on a small pilot scale. Based on the process data generated, a pilot plant was then technically developed and the READiTM process was scaled up to pilot scale. A plant with a reactor volume of 200 litres was designed, procured and put into operation for this purpose.

In parallel to the activities relating to the READiTM process, the second process stage (catalytic hydrogenation) was explored in the high-pressure laboratory at HAW Hamburg. As part of these activities, a new tubular reactor was installed and put into operation and work was carried out on continuous catalytic hydrogenation in a fixed bed.

A more detailed presentation of the results of READi-PtL can be found in the final report of the sub-project.

Duration
-
Budget
791.800
In cooperation with
Nexxoil GmbH
Krebs Brüggen Sekundärrohstoffe Gmbh & Co. KG
Funding
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Unit
CC4E - Competence Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency
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