Controlled pyrolysis of waste plastic and catalytic hydrotreatment of the pyrolysis products to produce FT fuels and lube oil
Naresh Shah, Nick Cprek, Gerald Huffman, Frank E. Huggins
University of Kentucky
[...]
Acknowledgements
CFFS Annual Meeting – August 2009
• Financial support provided by US Army through Contract No. W56HZV-07-C-0721.
• Previous financial support provided by Chevron Research and Technology Company for HDPE pyrolysis
work.
• Post-consumer waste plastic provided by Mickey Mills of Bluegrass Regional Recycling Corporation (BRRC) and Steve Miller of Chevron Research and Technology
• Shredding of Chevron plastic done at BRRC facility in Richmond, KY
cffs.uky.edu
Proposals and Contract Research Activities
Production of Military Fuels by C1 Chemistry, US DOD Contract No. W56HZV-07-C-0721, UK, AU, UU, WVU contract. 9/26/2008-9/25/2009, $1,312,000. UK Share: $624,379, Role: Co-PI
Production of Military Fuels by C1 Chemistry, US DOD Contract No. W56HZV-07-C-0721, UK, AU, UU, WVU contract. 9/26/2007-9/25/2008, $819,999 UK Share: $385,882 Role: Co-PI
cffs.uky.edu
Quarterly report for the period September 26, 2008 to December 25, 2008
Military Fuels Research Program of the Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science
U.S. ARMY TACOM Contract No. W56HZV-07-C-0721
Submitted by the Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science
January 9, 2009
Gerald P. Huffman, Director
CFFS / University of Kentucky
533 S. Limestone Street, Suite 107
Lexington, KY 40506
Phone: (859) 257-4027
FAX: (859) 257-7215
E-mail: huffman@engr.uky.edu
Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science
[...]
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Single Battlefield Fuel from a Modified Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Process ................................ 2
Advanced Process Technology for Tunable Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis towards Middle Distillate Fuel Fractions................................................................................................................................. 4
Simulation and Optimization of CFFS Military Fuels Production Methods .................................. 7
Production of fuels by controlled pyrolysis of waste plastic and Fischer-Tropsch wax .............. 10
Structural changes produced in elastomers by different swelling agents ..................................... 11
Importance of Structural/Electronic Characterization of Catalysts in Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis19
Tailoring Multi-component Catalysts on Carbon Supports for Fischer-Tropsch Products in the Kerosene Range ............................................................................................................................ 23
Gap Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 24
Problems and Mitigation Strategies .............................................................................................. 28
Summary of Funds Spent and/or Committed................................................................................ 29
[...]
Abstract
The Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science (CFFS), a five university research consortium, is
conducting a basic research program focused on development of innovative and economical
technology for producing military fuels from domestic resources, particularly our most abundant
resource, coal. The primary experimental approach is C1 chemistry, which uses feedstocks that
contain one carbon atom per molecule, including synthesis gas, methane, and methanol, all of
which can be produced from coal. Currently, 13 professors and their graduate students and
postdoctoral students participate in the research program. The current report summarizes
progress made on this research during the period, September 26, 2008 through December 25,
2008. Some of the principal results are briefly summarized below.
- The use of a lower temperature for the tandem FT/isomerization reactions led to a significant
decrease in methane selectivity and the cracking catalyst has been found to be fairly robust.
- Analysis of the product spectrum for SCF-FTS using promoted Fe catalysts synthesized in the
previous quarter indicated the presence of internal olefins. Further study of Fe-based FTS using
both gas phase and supercritical phase is underway in a newly constructed three-bed reactor.
- Work is continuing on supercritical phase reforming of an aqueous glucose stream using
Ni/ceria catalyst, which should enable better oxygen transport, resulting in less coking of the
catalyst.
- A novel Disjunctive-Genetic Programming (D-GP) algorithm has been developed that
markedly decreases the number of independent equations and variables required for optimization
analysis.
- A second waste plastic (provided by Bluegrass Regional Recycling Center (BRRC)) was
converted to hydrocarbon wax feedstock for conversion into JP-8 by catalytic hydrotreatment.
- The mechanical properties of elastomers were investigated by micro-indentation tests
conducted on a nitrile elastomer after submersion for 10 days in S-8 and JP-8 fuels. A nitrile
elastomer becomes stiffer, exhibiting less penetration depth for the same load.
- IR spectra of several nitrile rubbers were obtained using both photo-acoustic spectroscopy
(PAS) and attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (ATR). The goal is to understand the
swelling effects of different organic liquids on a microscopic basis.
- Mössbauer spectra of the iron in Fe:Zn:K:Si catalysts established that the iron was present as
a mixture of a Zn-Fe ferrite, (Zn,Fe)Fe2O4, and the Hägg carbide, ?-Fe5C2, after FTS.
- Mössbauer spectroscopy has revealed that the amount of metallic iron present on a silica
support after reduction in hydrogen much greater that found on an alumina support, due to the
formation of hercynite ((Fe2+,Fe3+,Al)( Al, Fe3+)2O4).
cffs.uky.edu |
