Resource World Magazine

74 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 Developments in Green Technology by Jane Bratun GREEN TECHNOLOGIES REPLACING FOSSIL-BASED FUELS WITH CLEANER ALTERNATIVES Renewable chemical and advanced biofuel company, Gevo Inc. [GEVO-NASDAQ], headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, is developing a product portfolio that replaces fossil-based fuels and harmful chemicals with low-carbon, cleaner alternatives. The Gevo processes captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converts carbohydrates to low-carbon chemicals and fuels. As noted by Patrick Gruber, Gevo's CEO, their processes generates inexpensive ingredients for food products and animal feed, as well as natural ingredients for consumer products, while promot- ing healthy soil. Also in the portfolio are cleaner jet fuel, gasoline, and ethanol-free fuel, replacing non-sustainable carbon-based chemicals and fuels with renewable carbon alternatives. Gevo makes its products using fermentation technology, add- ing carbohydrates, such as corn, into its products. The Gevo process captures large quantities of protein from that corn, or most other carbohydrates, for animal feed. To that end, the Gevo plant in Luverne, Minnesota produces about 100 million pounds of animal feed, and about 20 million gallons of ethanol per year, with a production capacity of 1.5 million gallons per year, plus 3 million pounds of vegetable oil. The Luverne plant produces more animal feed on a tonnage basis than it does alcohols. For every gallon of Gevo fuel produced, the company expects to generate up to 11 pounds of animal feed and protein, which enables lower- cost food source production. The advantage of using fermentation technology to produce products that cross over into what has traditionally been the petro-chemical world is that fermentation technology takes the complex agricultural-based raw materials and makes a simple alcohol that serves as a raw material to make jet fuel, isooctane and other products, using standard chemical industry techniques. When choosing a carbohydrate feedstock, the company considers cost, carbon footprint, contribution to food and feed, and avail- ability. More and varied types of carbohydrate feedstocks will become available as feedstock technologies mature. Jet fuel production is another part of the Gevo product port- folio. According to the International Air Transport Association, jet fuel demand is expected to grow at about 3 billion gallons per year. The aviation industry is expected to double its passengers by 2034 and account for 2% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (about the same as all of Germany), but jet fuel GHG emissions are expected to grow to 3% by 2050. Gevo used its low-carbon renewable jet fuel (Gevo ATJ) throughout O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on November 8, 2017, for Fly Green Day. Over 20 companies participated. This proof of concept demonstrated that normal airport infrastructure can use cleaner, better, renewable jet fuel, which contains no sul- fur or aromatics. Other properties of this low-carbon jet fuel are a freeze point below -80 degrees Centigrade, a higher overall energy density, a higher combustion heat, a lower physical weight, and lower particulate emissions than regular jet fuel. The airline industry has committed to holding greenhouse gas emissions flat from 2020 and beyond and has promised self regulation, intended to avoid the high cost of compliance if gov- ernments regulate them instead. To meet this goal, the industry must use low-carbon jet fuels in significant quantity. Gevo has developed one of the few low carbon alternative jet fuels for com- mercial use specified by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Gevo also provides a method to eliminate petroleum carbon from gasoline, making renewable gasoline with the potential, depending on the price of oil and carbon value, to be a gasoline for automobiles. Gevo produces isooctane from its isobutanol. Isooctane is the major hydrocarbon component in gasoline. Gevo's technology enables substituting fossil-based isooctane with renewable, low-carbon isoocatane. Gevo's isobutanol is being used to develop the "ethanol-free" gasoline market, particularly in regions where oxygen is required in the gasoline. The market size for ethanol-free gasoline is esti- mated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration to be about 5 billion gallons per year, outside of reformulated gas (RFG) regions, which are required to sell gasoline containing an oxygen- ate. Up to this point, ethanol was the only gasoline oxygenate available. Gevo's isobutanol enables use of ethanol-free gasoline in RFG areas. When RFG regions are included in the market size estimation, the total ethanol-free market is expected to be about 7 billion gallons per year for use in boats, small engines, sports cars, luxury cars, and farm machinery. This isooctane is already being

• Cover