SBIR-STTR Award

Reducing Cost of Cellulosic Jet Fuel Made from Woody Biomass
Award last edited on: 3/12/2021

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
USDA
Total Award Amount
$750,000
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
8.1
Principal Investigator
Marie-Joelle Simonpietri

Company Information

Simonpietri Enterprises LLC

519 Keolu Drive Unit A
Kailua, HI 96734
   (808) 341-7984
   info@}simonpietri.com
   www.simonpietri.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 02
County: Honolulu

Phase I

Contract Number: 2020-00694
Start Date: 6/25/2020    Completed: 3/31/2021
Phase I year
2020
Phase I Amount
$100,000
Commercial airlines have demonstrated the technical feasibility of renewable jet fuel in thousands of flights over the past ten years but to date no fuel derived from woody biomass has achieved commercial viability due to very high costs. To address this we are applying three innovations: 1. Reduced capital cost and technology risk by avoiding Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquids reformation and integrating with common Distillate HydroTreating (DHT) technology. 2. Operating and capital cost reductions with a "bolt-on" system to fit within existing refineries. 3. Negative-cost "dirty" urban wood feedstock containing treated lumber paint and glue from construction and demolition debris (C&D).We have developed a proprietary process to handle the contaminants present in wood treated with copper chromated arsenic (CCA).This urban woodwaste is the base to cover the capital cost of commercial plant which would then also be able to process both clean and pest-damaged forest biomass and dispose of invasive species. These innovations were developed in and tailored for the State of Hawaii but will also applying several other U.S. cities where C& D landfills or forest industries are located near petroleum refining complexes. In the islands of Hawaii our forests are challenged by invasive species and pests such as the rapid `ohia death and coconut beetle and watersheds are challenged by ever-increasing wild fires. Other commercial challenges and opportunities include small land mass complicated island logistics and very high jet aviation fuel demand. This proposal addresses Topic Area 8.1 Forests and Related Resources "value-added biofuels from woody biomass" specifically subsection 7 "Research for development of improved methods for the conversion of forest biomass into cellulosic biofuels (e.g. ethanol biobutanol jet aviation)"

Phase II

Contract Number: 2021-06424
Start Date: 9/10/2021    Completed: 8/31/2023
Phase II year
2021
Phase II Amount
$650,000
Our research is focused on developing and scaling up techniques to divert construction anddemolition debris wood waste (C&D) from landfills and re-use it as a feedstock to make sustainableaviation fuel and green hydrogen.This Phase II follow-on research will focus on a ten-fold scale-up gasification trial on actual C&Dwood waste taking it from a bench-scale reactor test to an integrated laboratory system includinggas cleanup all the way to finished hydrogen.The research will also include C&D waste pre-