Project Grant 20246702142492

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** LOWERING THE CARBON INTENSITY (CI) OF CORN-BASED ETHANOL IS THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT. SPECIFICALLY, WE AIM TO REPLACE A MINIMUM OF 40% OF THE NATURAL GAS USED IN ETHANOL MANUFACTURE WITH A RENEWABLY SOURCED FUEL GAS AND ACHIEVE A MINIMUM OF 18% REDUCTION IN ETHANOL CI THROUGH A LOW TEMPERATURE (~200 ºC), NON-PRECIOUS METAL CATALYST FACILITATED, HYDROTHERMAL PROCESS WITHOUT HYDROGEN ADDITION.GENERATION OF FUEL GAS FROM THIN STILLAGE WILL REQUIRE PURSUING THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: (A) SYNTHESIZE, CHARACTERIZE, AND IDENTIFY NON-PRECIOUS METAL CATALYST(S) TO EFFICIENTLY GENERATE A MIXTURE OF METHANE, CARBON MONOXIDE, AND HYDROGEN FROM THE ORGANICS PRESENT IN THIN STILLAGE, (B) TEST IDENTIFIED CATALYST(S) IN SCALED-UP BATCH AND CONTINUOUS FLOW SYSTEMS TO ASSESS PERFORMANCE AND GATHER ENGINEERING DATA (C) DEVELOP AND VALIDATE MITIGATION STRATEGIES SUCH AS THIN-STILLAGE FRACTIONATION TO OVERCOME CATALYST DEACTIVATION, AS NECESSARY, (D) INTEGRATE THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY ALONG WITH HEAT INTEGRATION AND WATER MANAGEMENT INTO THE CURRENT ETHANOL MANUFACTURING FLOWSHEET, (E) PERFORM A TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (TEA) TO DETERMINE PROCESS ECONOMICS, AND (F) CONDUCT A LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) USING GREET TO ESTABLISH CREDIBLY THE REDUCTION IN CORN-BASED ETHANOL'S CI.BY MAKING CORN ETHANOL GREENER, THE NEARLY 200 PLANTS ACROSS RURAL AMERICA CAN MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS IMPROVING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CURRENT AND NEXT-GENERATION BIOFUELS, ADVANCE THE ETHANOL TO SAF COMMERCIALIZATION, SUPPORT ALMOST 70,000 JOBS, AND OFFSET NEARLY 2% OF US TRANSPORTATION SECTOR MISSIONS.