Final Report of the European BioDME Project

5th International DME Conference Ann Arbor, April 18, 2013

Per Salomonsson

Production of DME from Biomass and Utilisation

as Fuel for Transport and for Industrial Use

Starting date: 1 September 2008

Duration 52 months

Contact: per.salomonsson@volvo.com

Total budget 28.4 M€

EU funding: 8.2 M€

Energimyndigheten: 9.6 M€

EUROPEAN PROJECT Grant agreement No: TREN/FP7EN/218923

BioDME Project Partners

- BioDME Plant engineering,

construction and operation

- BioDME Plant owner

BioDME Project Coordinator

- Engine development

- Vehicle manufacturing

- Field test responsible

- DME injection system

development

- Laboratory support to

plant operation

- DME production

technology provider

- BioDME distribution

- BioDME filling stations

- DME fuel specification

- Fuel Additive development

Some Facts About the BioDME Plant

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme

DME

production

capacity:

4 tons / d

Pipe

installation:

~ 10 000 m

Hand valves &

on/off valves:

~ 1400 pieces

Instruments: ~ 450 pieces

Vessels: ~ 30 pieces

Heat

exchangers:

~ 25 pieces

Process Plant

Foot Print:

20 x 30 m

Investment

cost (excl

gasification):

~ 22 million €

Gasification

Gas

Cleaning

Gas Shift,

Synthesis

&

Distillation

SmurfitKappa

Kraftliner

Pulp Mill

BioDME to

Storage

Black Liquor

to gasification

BioDME Production

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme

Over 4 ton DME/d

was reached in Sep -12

The plant incl. gasification is

operated by 2 operators per shift

Key operation data:

Gasification at 30bar/1050˚C

Methanol synthesis at 130 bar

DME synthesis at 15 bar

Synthesis Gas Preparation

Feed Gas

Steam

Water

Synthesis Gas

MDEA

WGS AGR SGS-cat CO2, H2S

• Demonstration of Sulphur-rich synthesis gas water shift

Single-pass Methanol Synthesis

– breaking the equilibrium limitation

Guard-

reactor

MPS

Raw MeOH

Synthesis Gas LPS

S-guard

MeOH-cat

Carbonyl-

guard MeOH reactors

• Stoichiometric syngas at P > 130 bar in synthesis

• Sulphur & Carbonyl Guards demonstrated

DME Synthesis & Distillation

• 99.5% DME directly from raw methanol

• Reduced wax production and wax removal demonstrated

DME reactor DME Purification

Light

byproduct

Wax

MeOH DME

MeOH

DME-cat

Water

BioDME Production

390 Tons by end of Project

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme

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BioDME Quality Control

• Quality control of BioDME and participating

in DME ISO standardization process

– Development of analysis methods for

BioDME from storage tank, from the trailer

and from filling stations

– LPG residues observed in filling stations,

originating from trailer [1].

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 10

Typical analysis of produced BioDME ISO draft [2]

C2 ppm wt 15

10000 C3 ppm wt 160

C4 ppm wt 600

Methanol ppm wt 120 500

Water ppm wt 40 300

CO2 ppm wt 100 1000

DME (by

difference)

% wt > 99.8 > 98.5

First unloading Dec. 2011

13 000 kg BioDME

[2]. Bollon, F. 7th Asian DME Conference, Niigata, Nov 16-18, 2011

[1]. Öhrman, O. et al. Quality control of BioDME produced via

black liquor gasification. 7th Asian DME Conference, Niigata,

Nov. 16-18, 2011.

Piteå

Stockholm

Jönköping

Göteborg

Fuel Distribution

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 11

• Available technology modified for DME

• Safety regulations based on LPG

• ~200 k€ per filling station (+33% vs diesel)

• Easy to achieve

Four filling stations

200 m3 storage tank in Piteå

34 m3 trailer

Fuel Delivery

• DME from methanol used as back-up

• First delivery of BioDME in Dec 2011, 100% since Feb 2012

• 60 % BioDME overall

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 12

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ME

DME deliveries

BioDME

Fossil

Acc deliveries

2010 2011 2012

Fuel and Lube Oil Specification

• Materials compatibility with liquid DME

– Big difference within polymer families from different suppliers

– Within polymer families XIIR, HNBR, FFKM and EPDM, it is possible

to find convenient products

– Good behavior of PTFE and PI (Polyimide)

– No problem of corrosion (in agreement w literature)

• Engine oil specification and field test evaluation

– Tested oils adequately protect the engine and full drain intervals can

safely be kept

– All oils contribute to some deposit formation in the fuel system at

different levels, the mechanism is being studied

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 13

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 14

DME Fuel Injection Equipment

• The pump supplied for DME is an application of a current Delphi diesel

production unit.

• The injector is a bespoke design required for DME application

• Design adaptation to DME properties (valve optimisation, sealings, tolerances,..)

• The mileage accrued by the field trucks is has proven the concept to be a

success.

Common Rail DME pump

and Injector

10 Field Test Trucks

European Project BioDME 7th Framework

Programme

Long haul, Swedish mail

Long haul, Swedish mail Regional and local

transportation

Long haul, DHL Regional and local

transportation

Development truck

Regional and local

transportation

Long haul, DHL Heavy loaded, up to 60

ton payload

Heavy loaded, up to 60

ton payload

Field Test Status 2012-12-31

• 10 field test trucks

• Accumulated mileage: 824 798 km / 512 600 mi

• Max truck mileage : 183 588 km / 115 000 mi

European Project BioDME 7th Framework

Programme

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Total Field test mileage

Emission Verification PEMS – Portable Emission Measurement System

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 17

Cycle NOx (g/kWh)

PM (g/kWh)

HC (g/kWh)

CO (g/kWh)

EUV EEV

limits (ETC)

2.0 0.02 0.40 3.0

PEMS 20 ton 1.66 0.00* 0.25 2.34

PEMS 60 ton 1.72 0.00* 0.31 1.82

* Measured with AVL 483 Micro Soot Sensor

• Independent (AVL) verification after 183 000 km (115 000 mi)

• EUV Emissions still fulfilled

Fuel Consumption

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 18

Truck

Cycle

Gross weight

(ton)

FC diesel

eqv.

(l / 10 km)

FC diesel

eqv.

(mi / gal)

Compared to

diesel

FH-787

Local & regional

haul

Min 15

Max 26

Avg 20-22

2.3 10.4 Similar / lower

FH-711

Regional haul

Min 36-38

Max 60

Avg 50-52

4.3 5.5 Similar

FH-842

Local, Start & stop

Min 21

Max 57

Avg 53

6.4 3.7 higher

Summary of Field Test Experience

• Driver perception (compared to diesel truck)

– Less noise from the engine

– Good engine response

– Longer time to fuel the truck

– Positive comments about locally produced fuel,

environmental properties and absence of soot

• Volvo perspective

– Trucks function well in commercial operation

– Low fault rate given the early development stage – exceeds expectation

– DME distribution and handling works well

– Slightly shorter service intervals compared to diesel – to be improved

– Because of inherent properties of DME, it has been possible to reach very far

with a relatively limited development effort

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 19

Fuel consumption

European Project BioDME

7th Framework Programme 20

Truck Application

Gross weight

(Min/Max/Avg)

Typical FC

Diesel Equivalent

(l /10 km & mi/gal))

FH-787 Regional and local haul

14/26/21 ton 2.3 / 10.2

FH-711 long haul

25/50/ ton 4.1 / 5.7

FH-842 local start/stop

21/57/53 ton 6.1 / 3.8

www.biodme.eu

BioDME Video

Volvo Group Trucks Technology

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Total Field test mileage

Extended Volvo Field Test 8 trucks, 2013-01-01 to 2014-06-30

(1000 Km / 1000 mi) Status 2013-04-08

Target June 2014

Total mileage 970 / 603 1 475 / 917

1 truck 200 / 124 300 / 186

Extended field test