XXIst World Energy Congress, Montreal

September 12 16, 2010

AP FUELS AND THE POTENTIAL

OF RENEWABLE DIESEL
Mark Berkley1, Navid Seifkar1, Michael OShea2, Christopher Peters3
1

Hatch Ltd., 2800 Speakman Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2R7, Canada
2
AP Fuels Inc., 885 McEachran, Montreal, Quebec, H2V 3C9, Canada
3
CHOREN USA Llc., 5900 Memorial Drive, Suite 305, Houston, Texas, 77007, USA
Keywords: Biomass, Gasification, Fischer-Tropsch, Renewable Diesel, Carbo-V

Abstract
The Province of Quebecs forestry industry has declined by more than 18% from 1999
2008. A decrease in demand for pulp, paper and lumber has been to the detriment of the
Province. Although the industry may be in decline, Quebec contributes 20.7% of
Canadas GDP. Not only does this make it the nations 2nd largest contributor, but it is
capable of doing so by having the lowest provincial greenhouse gas emissions per dollar
of GDP produced, a title the Province intends to retain through further emissions cuts of
20% by 2020. In order to do so, Quebec should focus on one of the single largest
contributors, road transportation. With increasing concerns of the dependence on foreign
oil, security and environment the promotion for the advancement of innovative
technologies is adamant. To capitalize on Quebecs forestry infrastructure, AP Fuels Inc.
has undertaken the development of a biomass-to-liquids facility. The facility proposed
herein is of hybrid design, such that it combines biomass (from logging operations) and
natural gas to feed a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis unit. Fischer-Tropsch is a mature
technology capable of producing diesel and other liquid fuels from syngas (a combination
of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gas). The AP Fuels Inc. facility would consume
2 200 000 tonnewet/a of available wood chips and produce 10 600 bbl/day of liquid fuels.
Forestry-derived F-T fuels have notable advantages other than sustainability over fossilderivatives, including: improved performance; ultra-low sulphur content; reduced
emissions, particulates and fouling; and production of fewer by-products.

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AP Fuels and the Potential of Renewable Diesel

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September 12 16, 2010

Introduction
AP Fuels Inc. (AP Fuels) is a corporation founded in the Province of Quebec intending to
produce renewable transport fuel. Although diesel fuels are primarily derived from nonfossil sources, AP Fuels intends to produce, through gasification and synthesis of
woodchips, Renewable Diesel. The following analysis is limited to the potential of
renewable diesel in the Province of Quebec to reduce dependence of oil imports and
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously stimulating local economies with
a sustainable business model. It is understood that such a model is repeatable in similar
geographic areas.
Current Conditions
Much discussion as to the worlds insatiable appetite for oil is well established. In 2006,
85 million barrels of oil were consumed everyday. By 2015 this rate is projected to
increase to 91 million barrels per day, and up to 107 million barrels per day by the year
2030. Compounding this increase is the need for clean, renewable sources of fuel.
Biofuels is an industry expected to play a significant role, inclusive of both ethanol and
biodiesel, with production forecast at 6 million barrels per day by 2030.1
In addition to our insatiable appetite for oil, the international scientific community has
come to the consensus that the release of GHGs through combustion of fossil fuels is
negatively impacting the global climate. Governments around the globe have been
initiating regional, yet striving towards binding global agreement to mitigate GHG
emissions to an acceptable annual output.
Regrettably, there has been much controversy surrounding the production and lifecycle
costs of biofuels (e.g. energy input, emissions, and reallocation of arable land from food
to fuel). However, the technology to assemble longer chained hydrocarbons has long
been practiced Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) Synthesis. F-T synthesis combines carbon
monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) into desired lengths producing LPG, jet fuel, naphtha,
ammonia and diesel. The production of CO and H2 is accomplished by decomposing
carbonaceous feedstocks within a substoichiometric atmosphere. The feedstock (e.g. coal,
petroleum coke, woodchips, etc.) is heated in excess of 1 400C. A deficient quantity of
oxygen (O2) is introduced to achieve the required temperatures while simultaneously
producing CO, H2 and other trace elements.
The Canadian Forestry and Logging Industrys contribution to the GDP has decreased
nearly 20% from 1999 to 2008.2 Such a decline has been hard on forestry dependent
economies (e.g. British Columbia and Quebec). Diversification/utilization of forestry
infrastructure to produce alternative products offers the potential to produce renewable
diesel and other fuels, considered clean and renewable. In 2006, 20.7% of Canadas GDP
was contributed by Quebec, yet the province only produced 11.9% of the nations total
GHG emissions. Table 1 outlines Quebecs effectiveness of economic production relative
to GHG emissions.
Table 1: National GDP and GHG Statistics for 20063

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XXIst World Energy Congress, Montreal

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AP Fuels and the Potential of Renewable Diesel

GDP Contribution

Province/Territory

[billion CAD/a]
Newfoundland & Labrador

GHG Emissions
[Mt/a]

Effectiveness
[GDP/GHG]

14.1

1.3%

9.4

1.3%

1.50

3.2

0.3%

2.1

0.3%

1.57

Nova Scotia

23.7

2.2%

19.6

2.7%

1.21

New Brunswick

19.8

1.8%

17.9

2.5%

1.10

Quebec

225.7

20.7%

84.8

11.9%

2.66

Ontario

450.1

41.3%

190.3

26.6%

2.36

Manitoba

34.3

3.1%

21.2

3.0%

1.62

Saskatchewan

31.6

2.9%

72.0

10.1%

0.44

Alberta

145.6

13.4%

234.2

32.7%

0.62

British Columbia

136.1

12.5%

62.3

8.7%

2.18

6.2

0.6%

1.7

0.2%

3.66

100.0%

1.72

Prince Edward Island

Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut

Nationally
Notes:

1090.3

100.0%

715.5

Measured on equivalent CO2 basis

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut considered Territories

Quebec is not simply the second largest contributor to Canadas GDP, it also produces
more dollars of GDP per tonne of GHG emitted than any other province. Even with this
title, the Premier of Quebec (Mr. Jean Charest) announced in November 2009 that the
Province intends to reduce GHG emissions by 20% by the year 2020. To deliver such
reductions, the largest contributing sectors ought be identified and improved. Table 2 is
the GHG inventory by sector for the Province of Quebec for 2006.
Table 2: Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Quebec for 20064
GHG Emissions
Sector
[Mt/a]
Transportation
Road

Contribution

34.0

40.1%

28.1

33.1%

Air

1.1

1.3%

Rail

0.8

0.9%

Marine

1.2

1.4%

Other

2.8

3.3%

Industrial

28.4

33.5%

Residential & Commercial

10.6

12.5%

6.4

7.5%

Agriculture
Waste Disposal

5.0

5.9%

Electricity

0.4

0.5%

84.8

100.0%

Provincially
Notes:

Measured on equivalent CO2 basis

Transportation is the single largest contributor of GHG emissions, particularly road

transport. The road transportation sector may be further subdivided into light vehicles and
medium/heavy trucks, the latter currently operating on diesel. Light vehicles and
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AP Fuels and the Potential of Renewable Diesel

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September 12 16, 2010

medium/heavy trucks account for 22.6% and 10.5% of Quebecs total GHG emissions,
respectively. The production of renewable diesel to supplant the current use of fossil
diesel in medium/heavy trucks would have immediate, positive effects.
Development of a local industry producing renewable diesel would reduce economic and
security risks, improve local economies and environments. Such an industry would
ensure the longevity of the forestry industry within the Province, supporting and
benefiting millions of Quebecois and Canadians alike.
Technology Background
Gasification
Decomposition of carbonaceous feedstocks in a substoichiometric environment found its
first commercial application in the early 1800s, with the founding of London Gas, Light
and Coke Company. Originally, the first and most important gaseous fuel was town gas,
comprised of CO and H2 and used for illumination. Thereafter, it found a use for heating,
as a chemical feedstock, and more recently in power generation. In the 1800s, pyrolysis
constituted the primary means of production, whereby it is the application of heat to a
feedstock in the absence of O2. Todays preferred route is thermal partial oxidation
(TPOX), whereby the feedstock is reacted in a substoichiometric oxygen atmosphere at
temperatures exceeding 1 200C. TPOX may be applied to solid, liquid or gaseous
feedstocks, yet the general reaction is presented in Equation 1.5

C nHm +

n
m
O2 nCO + H2
2
2

Equation 1

AP Fuels has selected CHORENs Carbo-V Biomass Gasification Technology for use
within its proposed facilities. The Carbo-V process consists of a low-temperature
gasifier (LTG) and high-temperature gasifier (HTG) in series. CHOREN has successfully
completed construction of both a pilot and demonstration scale biomass gasification
facility, and respectively. The plant was commissioned in 1998 with a 1 MWth
Carbo-V gasifier; by 2006 it had over 22 000 hours of operation and facilitated the
piloting of biomass-to-liquids technology.
Upon the plants success, scale-up of the Carbo-V gasifier to 15 MWth was
commissioned for the plant in Freiberg, Germany. With its proven success, the CarboV gasifier was further scaled-up to a single 45 MWth unit, while simultaneously adding
Shells Middle Distillate Synthesis (MDS) facilities, a proprietary Fischer-Tropsch (F-T)
process. The plant consumes woodchips and recycled wood with a capacity of
370 bbl/day of F-T liquids. More recently, the plants 45 MWth Carbo-V gasifier has
been further scaled-up to a single 160 MWth unit. Four (4) such units are to comprise
CHORENs plant, providing the capacity of over 5 000 bbl/day derived from 100%
biomass.

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AP Fuels and the Potential of Renewable Diesel

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September 12 16, 2010

Due to high feedstock consumption rates, gasification facilities are generally located near
a feedstock source (i.e. mine mouth or biomass harvest area). Compounding logistics,
syngas low heating value makes it economically unattractive for transportation across
long distances. Therefore, downstream industrial processes have resulted to capitalize on
higher margins of syngas derived products (e.g. CHORENs synthesis of diesel via the
Fischer-Tropsch process).
Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis
One such process is Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) Synthesis, the production of long-chained
hydrocarbons (e.g. jet fuel, naphtha, diesel) from syngas. F-T Synthesis was pioneered by
Dr. Franz Fischer and Dr. Hans Tropsch in petroleum-deprived Germany during the
1920s. The F-T process synthesizes CO and H2 over a catalyst to produce hydrocarbons
of various lengths. The most common catalysts are iron and cobalt based; their simplified
reactions are shown in Equation 2 and Equation 3.

2nH2 + nCO (CH2 )n + nH2 O + heat

Equation 2

nH2 + 2nCO (CH2 )n + nCO2 + heat

Equation 3

Although gasification and F-T synthesis of liquids fuels has historically been an
expensive process, interest has grown as of late. There are three (3) F-T synthesis routes:
fixed-bed, fluid-bed and slurry-bed. Fixed-bed and slurry-bed are the most common and
currently employed at commercial scale. The worlds largest F-T synthesis plant is in
Secunda, South Africa, comprising two nearly identical units, Sasol Two and Three.
Sasol Two was the first commercial unit and came online in 1980, with the optimized
Sasol Three producing its first hydrocarbons shortly after, in 1981. Although the plant
consumes coal, operations downstream of gasification are similar to a BTL facility.6
However, prior to the introduction of syngas to the F-T reactor, purification to remove
catalyst poisons is imperative. If poisonous compounds entrained within the syngas reach
the F-T reactors catalyst bed the entire catalyst may be poisoned and rendered useless.
Catalyst beds cost millions of dollars in capital and can take multiple years to produce in
sufficient quantities. Syngas purification is of utmost importance in order to achieve
production quality, efficiency, capacity and availability.
Syngas Purification
It is the authors opinion that the single largest source of risk associated with any F-T
synthesis based facility is the interface between syngas purification and F-T synthesis.
Should the purification process fail to reduce acid gases to the required concentrations,
project success is unlikely.
For the design herein, a physical solvent absorption process has been selected for acid gas
removal. Such a process is capable of selectively removing hydrogen sulphide (H2S),
carbonyl sulphide (COS) and carbon dioxide (CO2), among other contaminants such as

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ammonia (NH3), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrofluoric acid
(HF), hydrogen bromide (HBr), formic acid (HCOOH) and mercury (Hg). Physical
absorption systems include Rectisol, SelexolTM and Purisol and have long since been
employed in fuel synthesis, natural gas and chemical gas purification applications.
Crucial is the assurance that the selected system be capable of guaranteeing the required
contaminant reductions.
Conceptual Design
AP Fuels wishes to develop a biomass-to-liquids (BTL) facility in the Province of
Quebec, Canada. The facility is expected to consume woodchips from surrounding areas,
at present, it is known that 2 200 000 tonnewet/a of biomass is available through local
logging operations. A plant fed solely by this quantity of biomass is expected to produce
5 000 bbl/day of product, however, such a capacity is deemed insufficient scale for the
North American market, therefore a greater production capacity is required to take
advantage of economies of scale.
Hatchs proposed concept accepts woodchips, ground offsite by the biomass supplier.
The woodchips are dried indirectly using belt dryers, reducing the moisture content from
50%wtar to 15%wtdry. Thereafter, the woodchips are fed into CHORENs lowtemperature gasifier (LTG), described above, where volatile gases are driven off at 500C
and carried over to a high-temperature gasifier (HTG). The HTG is comprised of two
portions the exothermic downdraft unit and the endothermic updraft unit. The exothermic
section of the HTG partially oxidizes volatiles to produce raw syngas at temperatures
exceeding 1 400C. At these temperatures, solids entrained within the volatile gases are
heated above their melting point and agglomerate as molten slag in the base of the hightemperature gasifier for removal. Meanwhile, solids converted to biochar within the LTG
are transferred to the endothermic reactor. Raw syngas is carried over to the endothermic
reactor and rapidly quenched to 800C by the addition of biochar.
After cooling, hot syngas passes through a heat recovery boiler, producing high quality
steam for plant use, and exits at 180C. This warm syngas contains particulate matter
requiring further removal under dry conditions, limiting water contamination and
cleaning requirements. Thereafter, syngas is quenched and cooled to remove remaining
particulates and further reduce temperatures to 40C.
In order to increase plant capacity and capitalize on economies of scale, the gasification
system was mated with a natural gas source. This additional feedstock provides
supplementary carbon and hydrogen, reformed via a steam methane reformer (SMR)
producing syngas with a high H2:CO ratio. Syngas produced directly from gasification of
biomass possesses a low H2:CO ratio. This combination is beneficial as F-T reactors have
specific H2:CO ratios dependent on catalyst chemistry. Hatchs proposed concept blends
high and low H2:CO syngas streams as appropriate, thereafter this single syngas stream is
purified by means of the physical absorption system. Acid gases and other contaminants
removed may be processed producing valuable by-products (e.g. sulphur or high purity
CO2). Purified syngas is then sent to fuel synthesising.

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AP Fuels and the Potential of Renewable Diesel

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This proposed concept utilizes a cobalt based catalyst, slurry-bed reactor with vertical
tube bundles carrying boiler feedwater (BFW). The reactor is filled with cobalt catalyst
and purified syngas is injected at the base of the reactor, permeating upwards through the
catalyst bed. Synthesis of longer chained hydrocarbons occurs as syngas rises. Vertically
oriented tube bundles convey BFW, to cool the process while raising steam. Synthetic
crude is produced and further hydro-cracking/treating as required. Primary and secondary
fractionators produce diesel and naphtha blendstock for market. The overall process from
biomass and natural gas delivery through finished product production is outlined in
Figure 1.

Figure 1: Process Flow Diagram of Proposed AP Fuels Biomass & Natural Gas to Liquids Concept

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AP Fuels and the Potential of Renewable Diesel

Methodology & Results

Thermodynamic software, Aspen Plus, was utilized to evaluate plant performance.
Information related to feedstock quantities; proximate and ultimate analyses; site; utility
and operating conditions was provided and collected by CHOREN and Hatch. Typically,
fuel synthesis facilities, be it coal-to-liquids or gas-to-liquids, produce a syngas that is
non-optimal. In order to achieve the appropriate H2:CO ratio, the syngas undergoes the
water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction, Equation 4.
CO2 + H2 H2O( g ) + CO

Equation 4

The WGS is governed by Le Chateliers Principle, whereby:

A variation in one of the variables that describes a
system at equilibrium produces a shift in the
position of the equilibrium that counterbalances the
effect of this change.
Therefore, as gasification produces a CO rich syngas, additional steam must be injected
to produce a greater quantity of H2, simultaneously increasing the CO2 by-product.
Conversely, an SMR produces H2 rich syngas in which a greater quantity of CO2 is
required to produce more CO and achieve the appropriate H2:CO ratio for F-T synthesis.
The AP Fuels concept combines both gasification and steam methane reforming in order
to achieve the desired H2:CO ratio without the need for a WGS operation.
The data presented in Table 3 was fed into the Aspen Plus simulation with the unit
operations listed above. The goal of the simulation was to develop reasonable
approximations of the plants potential performance. Simulated results indicate that up to
10 600 bbl/day of F-T liquid fuels may be produced in the proposed facility (Table 4).
Table 4: Simulated Results
Results

Table 3: Feedstock Properties

Feedstock

Biomass
MoistureAs Received
Ash

Inputs

45

wt%

Biomass

273.0

wt%

Natural Gas

1,488 mmBTU/h

Proximate Analysis

tonnewet/h

Steam to Gasifier

25.5

tonne/h

76.0

tonne/h

Fixed Carbon

18

wt%

Oxygen

Volatile Matter

82

wt%

Water

144.0

m3/h

Power

119.8

MWe

52

wt%

Outputs

wt%

Liquid Fuels

41

wt%

CO2 Produced

Natural Gas
HHV

52

MJ/kg

Pressure

20

bar

Ultimate Analysis
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen

10,647

bbl/day

123.9

tonne/h

0.4

tonne/h

HP Steam (45 bar)

132.9

tonne/h

MP Steam (18 bar)

83.9

tonne/h

Sulphur

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September 12 16, 2010

Further Benefits
In addition to the sustainable benefits (e.g. renewable nature and reduced GHG
emissions) of forestry-derived F-T fuels there are several others of great value. Due to
catalyst selectivity F-T liquids have a multitude of superior qualities to fossil-derivatives:
reduced particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); low aromatics; ultralow sulphur content; improved engine performance; preservation of forestry and refinery
industries; domestic job creation; domestic tax retention; and energy security.
Conclusions
Currently, the Province of Quebec is suffering from a rapid decline of its forestry
industry. The attraction of producing a high-value product such a renewable diesel fuel
from domestic biomass is of great interest. Quebecs culture has also made it one of the
more environmentally inclined regions within Canada, such that the Provincial
Government has valiantly committed to further reducing GHG emissions by 20% before
2020. In order to deliver such a goal, it is most effective to address one of the largest
contributorstransportation.
Road transportation within Quebec makes up 33% of the Provinces GHG emissions.
Technologies exist today capable of producing renewable diesel, suitable with todays
automotive infrastructure. A transition from fossil to renewable diesel would reduce
Quebecs GHGs 10.5% overnight. A reduction in GHGs is not the sole benefit from such
technology; the superiority of F-T derived fuels delivers improved performance, reduced
pollution, greater employment opportunity and energy security. Hence, the increased
interest in fuel synthesis technology as of late.
The pairing of biomass and natural gas feedstocks into a single facility increases capacity
to a sufficiently attractive and manageable scale for application within Quebec and other
regions with adequately and secure resources. Such resources are more common,
plentiful and evenly distributed across several geographic regions than traditional fossil
resources.
The technical, economic and political advantages of domestic forestry-derived F-T fuels
holds great promise for the future energy portfolio of Quebec. With the Provinces
plentiful resources and infrastructure, the development of such an industry is sure to be
an attractive and successful.

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References
1

Energy Information Association (May 2009).

International Energy Outlook: 2009
Retrieved from: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/pdf/0484(2009).pdf

Industry Canada
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 1999-2008, Forestry & Logging (NAICS 113)
Retrieved from: http://www.ic.gc.ca/cis-sic/cis-sic.nsf/IDE/cis-sic113vlae.html

Environment Canada
National Inventory Report 1990-2006: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada The
Canadian Governments Submissions to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
May 2008
Retrieved from: http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/ghg/inventory_report/2006_report/2006_report_e.pdf

Dveloppement durable, Environment et Parcs, Qubec

Inventaire Qubcois des missions de Gaz Effet de Serre en 2006 et leur volution depuis 1990
Retrieved from: http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/changements/ges/2006/index.htm

Higman, Christoper and van der Burgt, Maarten

Gasification, 2nd Edition, Elsevier, 2008.

Meyers, Robert A.
Handbook of Synfuels Technology, McGraw-Hill, 1984.

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