Large-Scale Production Of E-fuel And Bio-Fuel Set To Get Smarter

E-fuels and bio-fuels are crucial to strengthening energy resilience and security and to decarbonizing energy-intensive industries like aviation. In a study recently published in Journal of CO₂ Utilization, Topsoe scientists have shown how e-fuel production based on converting CO₂ and biogas simultaneously or sequentially can both remove bottlenecks in carbon sourcing and support electrical grid balancing. If you want to dive deeper into the science behind, please download the full article on this page.

Our Lead Scientist Peter Mølgaard Mortensen, Principle Scientist Marené Lobban, and Senior Scientist Thomas Norup From together with scientists from Aarhus University (AU) and Sasol are some of the driving forces behind FrontFuel, an initiative sponsored by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) in Denmark. The goal of FrontFuel is to demonstrate synthetic fuel production from biogenic resources. As part of the work, the Topsoe, AU and Sasol scientists recently published a study demonstrating full-chain, pilot-scale production of renewable synthetic fuel by converting CO₂ and/or biogas to syngas with our eREACT technology and then successfully converting the syngas to syncrude through Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch technology.

Electrified syngas production
Using electrically heated syngas manufacturing at industrially relevant conditions, the CO₂ and biogas were dynamically fed, where steam reforming of CH₄ and reverse water-gas shift of CO₂ and H₂ were achieved interchangeably in the same reactor unit. Dynamic control of the feed gas composition using H₂ and steam allowed for producing syngas with constant composition and, subsequently, enabled stable syncrude production, despite variable inlet concentrations of CH₄ and CO₂. The dynamic control allows for shifting from a net high energy-intensive, hydrogen-consuming, CO₂-based process scheme to a net less energy-intensive CH₄-based process scheme. The interchangeable nature of operation demonstrates that utilization of multiple renewable carbon sources can be integrated with direct electrification of syngas manufacturing, enabling production of synthetic fuels at high capacity with flexible carbon constituent. Something enabled by the integral nature of the eREACT technology and catalyst system.

Two birds with one stone
Being able to dynamically switch between CO₂ and biogas (in this case CH₄) while the syngas reforming process is running paves the way for new routes to remove bottlenecks in carbon sourcing for large-scale e-fuels production by integrating versatile or even variable carbon feedstocks. And because energy demand for the synthetic fuels process scheme is higher when converting CO₂ than when converting biogas, an e-fuels production based on the two feedstocks will allow refineries and fuel producers to switch between one type when renewable electricity is scarce (and expensive) and the other when renewable electricity is abundant (and cheap), thus helping to balance the energy grid – and refinery budgets. The same naturally goes for changes in feedstock availability. And the end product, syncrude, remains of a quality well suited for work-up into synthetic fuels like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In conclusion, the eREACT Fischer-Tropsch setup offers a promising and scalable solution for valorizing renewable carbon resources as it integrates with essentially any type while also allowing recycling of byproducts from the downstream fuel synthesis. Its flexibility to utilize a variety of carbon feedstocks and mixtures enables the production of renewable, low-carbon-intensive fuels, at high final product yields and selectivity thereby promoting the green transition.