Mercurius
Biofuels
turning biomass into value...
REACH Technology
Mercurius Biofuels has developed and obtained rights to patent pending technologies that are potentially ground-breaking in the search for cellulosic fuels.
Mercurius REnewable Acid-hydrolysis Condensation Hydrotreating (REACH) technology:
1) efficiently converts biomass into biofuels and green chemicals without directly producing CO2 byproduct like fermentation and gasification processes.
2) uses two widely deployed and well understood industrial processing techniques; one from the pulp and paper industry and the other from petroleum refining.
3) creates an intermediate bio-crude product through the use of acid hydrolysis (similar to the pulp and paper industry).
4) produces diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline through a solid-bed-catalyst process analogous to the way the petroleum industry converts crude oil into the various petroleum products on the market today.
5) does not use enzymes or microbes therefore it is not sensitive to feedstock impurities.
The company will develop and commercialize this economically superior process to turn biomass and recycle material into liquid biofuels and high value green chemicals.
REACH Block Flow Diagram
Acid-catalyzed depolymerization/dehydration takes place in an acid environment, Acid-hydrolysis, to produce non-sugar intermediates in high yields The feed is mixed with acid and heated in a reactor to convert cellulose and hemicellulose to preferred products, ethyl levulinate, from the cellulose and furfural from C5 sugar components of the hemicellulose. In the Condensation step, the intermediates from hydrolysis, ethyl levulinate and furfural, are combined with each other to build the desired carbon chain length. Hydrotreating the condensation products stabilizes them by partially or fully deoxygenating them to produce the desired fuel products.
Technology Advantages
Using REACH technology Mercurius Biofuels:
1) has high yields and makes high value byproducts.
2) does not use enzymes, microbes, or extreme operating conditions.
3) produces cellulosic diesel and jet fuel with superb flow properties and high cetane number.
4) uses established, reliable chemical processes.
5) accepts a wide range of feed materials, and does not require a sugar intermediate.
6) allows fuel producers and blenders to fulfill their renewable fuel obligations and improve their blending economics because of the excellent blend properties of our products.