Using Separation-Enhanced Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry to Enable Increased Renewable Carbon Content in Transportation Fuels
EMSL Project ID
60529
Abstract
The use of renewable resources in transportation fuels can help reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and the resulting emissions. Refiners are encouraged and incentivized to optimize and enhance production of coprocessed biofuels with increasing bio-derived components. A standard analytical technique for quantifying biogenic carbon in coprocessed fuels is by 14C measurement of the fuel using accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS). However, the use of AMS has limitations related to cost, sample throughput, and stringent laboratory requirements for adhering to ASTM standards. In contrast to this, stable isotope ratio measurements of carbon (13C/12C) using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) can also be effective for tracking co-processed biogenic carbon, with results approaching that of analyses using AMS. The lower cost of analysis via IRMS may enable deployment to refineries, improving access and analysis turnaround times (≤ 2 hours), and, by extension, enable data that can allow process optimization to maximize renewable carbon in desired refinery products and encourage the use of clean energy. This work will apply bulk and chemical separation approaches (e.g., by boiling point range, chemical class, or even specific compound) to bio- and fossil-derived feedstock and fuel samples as part of IRMS analyses, which will enable biogenic carbon tracking in fuel product streams at refineries. This work will show analyses via IRMS as reliable and comparable to analyses via AMS, by bulk analyses or using separations, to improve sensitivity at low blend ratios and enable refinery process optimization through onsite analysis.
Project Details
Start Date
2022-06-28
End Date
2022-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator