Process for using biogenic carbon dioxide derived from non-fossil organic material

• US 9,108,894 B1
• Filed: 12/08/2014
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iogen Corporation
• Original Assignee: Iogen Corporation
• Inventors: Foody, Brian, Foody, Patrick J
• Primary Examiner(s): Katakam, Sudhakar
• Application Number:
  US14/563,116
• Time in Patent Office: 253 Days
• Field of Search: 518/700
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0233 the reforming step being a steam reforming step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0244 the reforming step being an autothermal reforming step, e.g. secondary reforming processes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0283 containing a CO-shift step, i.e. a water gas shift step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0405 Purification by membrane separation
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/043 Regenerative adsorption process in two or more beds, one for adsorption, the other for regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0475 the impurity being carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/062 Hydrocarbon production, e.g. Fischer-Tropsch process
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0872 Methods of cooling
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/1241 Natural gas or methane
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/38 using catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/48 followed by reaction of water vapour with carbon monoxide
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/50 Separation of hydrogen or hydrogen containing gases from gaseous mixtures, e.g. purification C01B3/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/50 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 29/1518 one step being the formation of initial mixture of carbon oxides and hydrogen for synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 31/04 Methanol
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 31/08 Ethanol
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2/50 from carbon dioxide with hydrogen
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/02 essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/023 for spark ignition
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/04 essentially based on blends of hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/10 : Recycling of a stream within the process or apparatus to reuse elsewhere therein
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/26 : Composting, fermenting or anaerobic digestion fuel components or materials from which fuels are prepared
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/42 : Fischer-Tropsch steps
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/543 : Distillation, fractionation or rectification for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 3/08 : Production of synthetic natural gas
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/06 : Ethanol, i.e. non-beverage
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/065 : with microorganisms other than yeasts
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/10 : substrate containing cellulosic material
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/14 : Multiple stages of fermentation; Multiple types of microorganisms or re-use of microorganisms
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 : Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/10 : Process efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/145 : the feedstock being materials of biological origin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 30/00 : Technologies relating to oil refining and petrochemical industry

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a process for forming a biogenic carbon-based fuel or a fuel intermediate from biogenic carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The hydrogen is sourced from a process that produces hydrogen and fossil carbon dioxide from a fossil-fuel hydrocarbon and separates the fossil carbon dioxide from the hydrogen. The process may further comprise carrying out or arranging for one or more parties to carry out at least one step that contributes to a reduction in the GHG emissions of the biogenic carbon-based fuel, or a fuel made from the fuel intermediate, of at least 20% relative to a gasoline baseline. In various embodiments this includes (a) introducing the fossil carbon dioxide underground, and/or (b) using a biogenic carbon-based product selected from a chemical and energy product produced from the non-fossil organic material to displace the use or production of a corresponding fossil-based product. Methods of using the present invention to enable fuel credit generation are also described.

Claims

1. A process for using biogenic carbon dioxide derived from non-fossil organic material for fuel production comprising:

(i) providing biogenic carbon dioxide that is sourced from a production process comprising a step of fermentation;

(ii) providing a stream enriched in hydrogen that is sourced from a hydrogen production process comprising the steps of;

(a) converting fossil methane to carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reforming;

(b) converting at least a portion of the carbon monoxide by a water-gas shift reaction to carbon dioxide, thereby producing a stream comprising carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and

(c) separating at least a portion of the hydrogen from the stream of step (b) from non-hydrogen components to produce the stream enriched in hydrogen, which stream contains a molar ratio of hydrogen to both fossil carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide of greater than 4;

1;

(iii) converting the biogenic carbon dioxide from step (i) and hydrogen produced in step (ii)(c) to a biogenic carbon-based fuel or fuel intermediate; and

(iv) carrying out or arranging for one or more parties to carry out at least one step that contributes to a reduction in the life cycle GHG emissions of a fuel or a fuel made from a fuel intermediate produced by the process, wherein the life cycle GHG emissions of the fuel are at least 20% lower than a gasoline baseline as determined b EPA methodology, said at least one step selected from;

(a) introducing at least a portion of fossil carbon dioxide recovered from one or more streams comprising fossil carbon dioxide generated during said hydrogen production process into an apparatus for transporting carbon dioxide, withdrawing carbon dioxide from said apparatus and introducing the withdrawn carbon dioxide underground, and

(b) using at least a portion of a product produced in the production process of step (i) selected from a chemical and energy product to displace the use or production of a corresponding fossil-based product.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the biogenic carbon-based fuel or fuel intermediate of step (iii) is an alcohol.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein the alcohol is ethanol or methanol.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the biogenic carbon-based fuel or fuel intermediate of step (iii) is a liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon at 20°

C.

5. The process of claim 4, wherein the hydrocarbon is selected from methane and gasoline.

6. The process of claim 4, wherein the hydrocarbon is a liquid hydrocarbon produced by a Fischer Tropsch reaction.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein the converting of step (iii) comprises a fermentation.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein an alcohol is produced by the fermentation.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the alcohol is ethanol.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein the production process of step (i) produces at least one energy product that is steam, electricity, methane or lignin.

11. The process of claim 1, wherein the production process of step (i) produces at least one of an alcohol and an organic acid.

12. The process of claim 1, wherein the production process of step (i) produces ethanol.

13. The process of claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the biogenic carbon dioxide provided in step (i) is sourced from (a) a fermentation to produce the ethanol, (b) an anaerobic digestion of a process stream resulting after a step of recovering the ethanol, or (c) a combination thereof.

14. The process of claim 13, wherein the production process of step (i) further comprises the production of lignin.

15. The process of claim 1, wherein a fuel or fuel intermediate is produced in the production process of step (i) that is the same type as the biogenic carbon-based fuel or fuel intermediate produced in step (iii).

16. The process of claim 1, wherein

the production process of step (i) is an ethanol production process comprising a step of producing biogenic ethanol from a fermentation and the biogenic carbon dioxide is generated during the ethanol production process and collected, and

step (iii) comprises introducing biogenic carbon dioxide from step (i) and hydrogen from step (ii) together or separately to a fermentation reactor and forming additional biogenic ethanol by converting the biogenic carbon dioxide and hydrogen in the reactor to biogenic ethanol by fermentation with a microorganism.

17. The process of claim 16, wherein the biogenic carbon dioxide and hydrogen are introduced together or separately with a fermentation broth.

18. The process of claim 1, further comprising generating or causing the generation of a biofuel credit.

19. The process of claim 18, wherein the biofuel credit is a RIN or an LCFS credit.

20. The process of claim 1, further comprising exporting the energy product to displace the use or production of the corresponding fossil-based product outside the production process of step (i).