| A chemical process is presented which converts biological fats and oils to drop-in replacements for hydrocarbon fuels, including jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline. The process consists of three reaction steps. If desired, byproducts of the process, such as glycerol and light hydrocarbons, can be combusted to provide heat inputs to the process.;A central goal of the project was to determine the feasibility of achieving an energy conversion efficiency of 90%. The best-case analysis predicted an efficiency of 89.6%, vs. a baseline figure of 73.2%, with additional savings in material costs. The savings were achieved through optimization of the individual reaction steps. |
