SIMONPIETRI ENTERPRISES LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.1

Description

Commercial airlines have demonstrated the technical feasibility of renewable jet fuel in thousandsof flights over the past ten years but to date no fuel derived from woody biomass has achievedcommercial 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-liquidsreformation and integrating with common Distillate HydroTreating (DHT) technology.2. Operating and capital cost reductions with a "bolt-on" system to fit within existingrefineries.3. Negative-cost "dirty" urban wood feedstock containing treated lumber paint and glue fromconstruction and demolition debris (C&D).We have developed a proprietary process to handle thecontaminants 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 toalso 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 applyin several other U.S. cities where C&D landfills or forest industries are located near petroleumrefining complexes.In the islands of Hawaii our forests are challenged by invasive species and pests such as therapid `ohia death and coconut beetle and watersheds are challenged by ever-increasing wild fires.Other commercial challenges and opportunities include small land mass complicated islandlogistics and very high jet aviation fuel demand.This proposal addresses Topic Area 8.1 Forests and Related Resources "value-added biofuels fromwoody biomass" specifically subsection 7 "Research for development of improved methods forthe conversion of forest biomass into cellulosic biofuels (e.g. ethanol biobutanol jet aviation)…"