Accelergy awarded $1.3M grant for pilot Coal-Biomass-to-Liquids plant in Pennsylvania; algae-based carbon capture
27 April 2011
Accelergy Corporation has received a $1.3-million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to move forward on the construction of a facility to demonstrate its integrated coal-biomass-to-liquids (CBTL) technology platform (earlier post) at Intertek PARC, located at the U-PARC facility in Pittsburgh.
Utilizing proprietary micro-catalytic liquefaction technologies and direct biomass conversion technologies, Accelergy’s integrated Coal-Biomass to Liquids (CBTL) process produces a tunable range of low net-carbon fuels including Jet-A, and military JP-5, JP-8, and JP-9 jet fuels. The CBTL process maintains a high overall thermal efficiency while resulting in 20% lower CO2 emissions than conventional refining methods, the company says.
Previously, Accelergy was awarded a $175,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study and determine the facility’s location. (Earlier post.) The new grant will allow Accelergy and its partners to showcase their fully integrated process for converting coal to liquids, and inform plans to develop commercial-scale facilities in the state.
The facility will produce and test several types of non-petroleum fuel, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and feature a carbon dioxide capture and recycle process utilizing algae to convert the carbon dioxide into additional liquid fuels and a bio-fertilizer.
Energy Strategy Environment LLC (ESE), a systems integration provider, will be responsible for bringing together the technologies and business partners for the algae-based carbon capture and recycle components of the project. Algal biomass from the project will be adapted for use as a natural bio-fertilizer with the potential to reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and to sequester carbon in agricultural soils and reclaimed mine site soils, according to ESE founder Mark Allen.
The grant was approved with a unanimous vote from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority. Accelergy has been in talks with various state politicians since early 2010, when former State Rep. Dave Kessler first brought the company to Pennsylvania. Kessler has since formed Advanced Energy Initiatives LLC and now represents the company in Pennsylvania.
Accelergy currently has agreements in place with the US Air Force Research Laboratory and the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering (TARDEC) Center to test and certify the resulting fuels for various applications.
The $1.3-million grant would not even pay to grade the property.
Posted by: SJC | 27 April 2011 at 02:16 PM