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Chevron and NREL to Collaborate
Research to Produce Transportation Fuels, Including Jet Fuel, using Algae
By: Tom Catino - Thursday, November 1, 2007
Source: NREL
Chevron Corporation and the US Department of Energy's National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have entered into a collaborative
research and development agreement to study and advance technology
to produce liquid transportation fuels using algae.
Chevron and NREL scientists will collaborate to identify and develop
algae strains that can be economically harvested and processed into
finished transportation fuels, such as jet fuel. Chevron Technology
Ventures, a division of Chevron USA, will fund the initiative.
The new research project announced today is the second under a five-
year strategic biofuels research alliance between Chevron and NREL
announced in October 2006. The first involves bio-oil reforming, a
process by which bio-oils derived from the decomposition of
biological feedstocks are then converted into hydrogen and biofuels.
(Earlier post.)
We are extremely pleased to join Chevron in this path-breaking
research. NREL operated the Aquatic Species Program for the
Department of Energy for nearly 20 years, giving us unique insights
into the research required to produce cost-effective fuels from
algal oils or lipids. Our scientists have the advanced tools and the
experience to rapidly increase the yield and productivity of key
species of algae. In Chevron we have found an ideal research partner
with the skills and knowledge to transform these algal lipids to
cost-competitive fuels and to distribute those fuels to consumers.
—NREL Director Dan Arvizu
Chevron believes that nonfood feedstock sources such as algae and
cellulose hold the greatest promise to grow the biofuels industry to
large scale.
—Don Paul, VP and Chief Technology Officer, Chevron Corporation
Algae are considered a promising potential feedstock for next-
generation biofuels because certain species contain high amounts of
oil, which could be extracted, processed and refined into
transportation fuels using currently available technology. Other
benefits of algae as a potential feedstock are their abundance and
fast growth rates. Key technical challenges include identifying the
strains with the highest oil content and growth rates and developing
cost-effective growing and harvesting methods.
Although NREL's past research on algal biofuels was done with a view
toward using the microalgal oil to make conventional biodiesel, the
lab has been interested in the possibilities of using refinery-based
hyrdoprocessing with microalgal oil to produce a kerosene-like fuel
very similar to petroleum-derived commercial and military jet fuels
or into a fuel designed for multi-purpose military use. Research
priorities in this application area include:
Applying current strain selection, screening, and genetic
engineering technology to increase lipid yields.
Genetically manipulating the mechanism by which microalgae switch
back and forth between normal growth and lipid production to
maintain high rates for both.
Optimizing the lipids produced for hydroprocessing into jet fuels or
multi-purpose military fuels.
Working with oil refiners to tailor hydroprocessing to use for
converting microalgal oil to premium diesel or jet fuel.
31 October 2007
Resources
Jet Fuel from Microalgal Lipids (NREL)
A Look Back at the US Department of Energy's Aquatic Species
Program: Biodiesel from Algae (NREL close-out report)
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/10/chevron-and-nre.html
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/10/chevron-and-nre.htm
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