{"id":26912,"date":"2015-07-08T04:10:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T02:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rss.nova-institut.net\/public.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biofuelsdigest.com%2Fbdigest%2F2015%2F07%2F06%2Fmaking-hydrocarbon-fuels-directly-from-co2-and-sunlight%2F"},"modified":"2021-09-09T21:44:46","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T19:44:46","slug":"solar-fuels-making-hydrocarbon-fuels-directly-from-co2-and-sunlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/solar-fuels-making-hydrocarbon-fuels-directly-from-co2-and-sunlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Fuels: Making hydrocarbon fuels directly from CO2<\/sub> and sunlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drop-in Hydrocarbon fuels made directly by plants? Here. we look at the science and risks of turning an \u201cability\u201d into an \u201cindustrial reality\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s common knowledge that terrestrial plants (and many aquatic species) use carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to make the molecules they need \u2014 using a complex series of metabolic pathways established and controlled by their genetic code. And its common knowledge that there\u2019s carbon in CO2 and hydrogen in water.<\/p>\n

So, why don\u2019t we teach plants to produce hydrocarbons, directly, usable for fuels and chemicals with which we power our industrial lives?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an \u201coft-praised, not-so-oft-seen\u201d alternative to using sugars, starches or oils \u2014 that is, the materials that plants produce, to make fuels, chemicals and materials. Turns out that cutting out the middle step and producing hydrocarbons out of the box is, as the Australians would say, \u201chard yakka\u201d (tough sledding).<\/p>\n

This is the goal which has animated Joule, a stealthy technology developer in Boston which has attracted legions of supporters and detractors \u2014 developing a system which photosynthetically grows a modified cyanobacteria that produces ethanol, diesel or jet-range molecules, or even a large array of renewable chemicals.<\/p>\n

And lately, more researchers have been delving into the field.<\/p>\n

Can it really be done?<\/h4>\n

For some time, researchers have known that the green algae known<\/a> as Botryococcus braunii<\/em> are capable of accumulating huge quantities of hydrocarbons. In fact, as this \u201ccool read\u201d review of b. braunii<\/em> states, \u201cthe best record was 86% of its dry weight for an algal sample harvested from a natural bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n

B.\u00a0braunii<\/em>\u2019s magic? Ir has a knack for accumulating hydrocarbons in the \u201cextracellular space\u201d instead of \u201cin the cytoplasm\u201d \u2014 which is to say, it puts all the hydrocarbons on the driveway because the hall closet\u2019s too small.<\/p>\n

You might well ask, if a ton of b.\u00a0braunii<\/em>can contain up to 1720 pounds of hydrocarbons, or about 230 gallons of hydrocarbons for fuel, why aren\u2019t we all driving around on it?<\/p>\n

Three limitations. First<\/strong>, b.\u00a0braunii\u00a0<\/em>makes a slightly complex form of hydrocarbon that needs to be \u201ccracked down\u201d to the fuel range. Second<\/strong>, no one has yet worked out a commercially-affordable production and harvesting system for algal fuels \u2014 companies like Algenol and Cellana say they are close to cracking that problem, but not with our friend b. braunii<\/em>. Third, our friend here\u00a0<\/em>grows sloooooowly.<\/p>\n

So work on the organism continues, but it inspires the question. Could other aquatic or even terrestrial plants ever be trained to directly produce a fuel?<\/p>\n

To which the answer is, they already do \u2014 what we need to find is a way to make them produce it faster and in higher concentrations. Which is no simple task, as it turns out. That\u2019s what Joule\u2019s up to, more or less. In their case, they\u2019ve done a lot of work to build an organism from the ground up.<\/p>\n

So, how close are we and what are the limitations?<\/h4>\n

According to this impressive review which appeared earlier this year in Plant Biotechnology, the challenges are four:<\/p>\n

a) improving photosynthesis efficiency
\nb) fine-tuning the MEP pathway
\nc) optimizing key terpene enzymes
\nd) designing proper storage strategies<\/p>\n

Over at Joule, we seen some remarkable results reported on the first three fronts \u2014 with photosynthetic efficiency and biocatalysts.<\/p>\n

According to a report last year, Joule has successfully engineered \u201ca photosynthetic biocatalyst able to divert 95% of fixed carbon normally converted to biomass directly to fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joule noted at the time: \u201cPrior research has generally capped the photon energy conversion efficiency of photosynthetic processes at 2 \u2013 3%. By contrast, Joule has applied a systems approach that spans biocatalyst, reactor and process engineering to negate the effects of these conditions, resulting in many-fold greater energy conversion efficiencies and supporting Joule\u2019s estimated maximum of 14%.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storage? In most cases, we\u2019ve seen researchers focus on secretion. That is, the cell won\u2019t contain all the hydrocarbons we want to produce, so it\u2019s secreted outside of the cell, ready for harvest. That\u2019s the \u201cmilk the cow\u201d rather than \u201cshoot the cattle\u201d approach to harvesting fuels from living cells. Algenol and Joule ar both working on that technology.<\/p>\n

Joule, Algenol and their target molecules<\/h4>\n

We know that Joule and Algenol are both producing ethanol \u2014 both have the capability to produce diesel-range molecules and other renewable chemicals, but we are not clear on the timelines and progress to date. Which is to say, they can make them, but we\u2019re not clear on whether they can a) make them at commercial-feasible costs or b) make them at commercial-scale. Stay tuned on this channel.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Commercial-scale<\/h4>\n

Algenol and Joule are both expected to commence commercial-scale construction this decade \u2014 in the case of Algenol, we dont have a specific date; Joule says construction will commence in 2017.<\/p>\n

What can be expected?<\/h4>\n

The sustainability equation. Though research into hydrocarbon production from terrestrial plants is\u00a0ongoing, the timelines look long. And, we would expect that the Joule \/ Algenol approach, which uses non-productive land and non-potable water, is going to be the winner on sustainability hands down as long as the economics work.<\/p>\n

So, think \u201cphotosynthetic organisms\u201d for now, terrestrial plants maybe one day down the line, maybe never.<\/p>\n

The CO2 equation. The systems that have been developed to date use direct CO2 fed from point sources. Think \u201cclimbing Mt. Everest\u201d where the optimal result is from using a \u201cbottled gas\u201d supplement to make the trip. There\u2019s been a lot of work on sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere \u2014 best we\u2019ve seen is a mid-term target of $100 per ton, and with lower-cost CO2 available from point sources and plenty of it, it\u2019ll to go that way, for now.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s in the lead. For now, Joule and Algenol. But a growing cadre of researchers is working on this. We sure hope to see a highly-productive terpene-secreting organism one of these days. That really would be something.<\/p>\n

Why make a $2 fuel when you can make a $5 chemical? The answer is simple, you make all the $5 chemicals you can, but one would rapidly run through all the available demand with a couple of scaled commercial faclities, in many cases.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/h4>\n

Can it happen? It already does. Will it happen, industrially? A first-generation of the technology is expected in the next few years.<\/p>\n

Beitrag als PDF: mpdf<\/a><\/p>\n

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