295693 Production and Upgrading Of Renewable Bio-Crude From Large Scale Algae Ponds

Wednesday, May 1, 2013: 3:30 PM
Bonham C (Grand Hyatt San Antonio)
Neil Osterwalder, Dan Sajkowski and Ben Saydah, Sapphire Energy Inc., San Diego, CA

Renewable fuels from algae are moving closer to commercialization as Sapphire Energy showed with their Integrated Algae Bio-Refinery (IABR). The IABR in New Mexico was commissioned in 2012 and is producing algae derived bio crude oil on a continuous basis using Sapphire’s proprietary conversion and extraction process.  This algae bio-crude contains a wide range of hydrocarbons, fatty acids, aromatics, and nitrogen compounds and other heteroatoms. This chemical profile suggests that algal bio-crude can be economically processed by blending with existing refinery streams and co-processing the combined streams as opposed to the more costly development of algal-specific refineries. Different options of co-feeding the algae crude to a refinery can produce a full suite of refinery products from petrochemicals to gasoline, diesel and other refinery products. This study describes the products that can be produced from algae bio-crude and its implementation into existing refining infrastructure.

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See more of this Session: Renewable Substitutes for Petroleum Products
See more of this Group/Topical: Process Development Division