RIKARBON INC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase II: 15a

Description

Accidentally released lubricant into water bodies from hydropower production turbines and other marine (cruises, ships) applications challenges safe water recycling and management, and has invited a number of lawsuits.According to the Environmental Protection Agency, up to 16 million gallons of lubricants per year ? equating to 1.5 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill ? are washed off into water streams, which poses a threat to water resources, aquatic ecosystems and create other health related issues.Thus, Vessel General Permit (VGA) regulation in USA and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) in Europe require Environmentally-Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) for hydropower production and marine applications.RiKarbon, Inc.is commercializing a proprietary technology to produce bio-based base oils (BioLube) with tailored molecular architecture and tunable properties for EALs.Our bio-preferred products containing up to 100% bio-based carbon will bring significant economic, societal and educational benefits as listed below: (1) use of less additives because of our ability to synthesis base oil of desirable specifications, (2) high selectivity and yield of products; thus, minimizing purification costs, (3) opportunity of bring new class of designer lubricants to the market, unmatched of current technology and products, (4) feedstock flexibility to produce base oils from inexpensive and sustainable carbon neutral materials; thus, addresses environmental eco-systems, and (6) opportunity to improve the rural economy by utilizing abundant sustainable feedstock available in those areas.In Phase I, RiKarbon achieved several critical milestones to advance the commercial potential of the technology and products.This included: (1) synthesis of six different BioLube of varying structures and properties, (2) determined structural-properties relationship of BioLube to evaluate how the structural change can tune specifications and which product is most suitable for hydropower turbines, (3) determined stability, key properties, bio-based carbon content and biodegradability of BioLube to ensure suitability for hydropower and other EAL applications and (4) completed a techno-economic analysis.Key technical objectives of the Phase II are: (1) production of the most suitable BioLube in quantity, (2) development of a continuous production process, (3) scale up and de-risked the process for pilot scale production, (4) formulation and specification evaluation of formulated BioLube to current lubricants used in hydropower turbines, (5) address regulatory requirements including EAL certification, and qualify formulated BioLube for hydropower turbines.At the end of Phase II, we anticipate having a commercial formulation of BioLube ready for introduction to the hydropower industry initially and then other environmentally-regulated end-use markets.