Move over Super, here comes SuperDuper. All the high octane and performance, and the renewability too, at a price you can afford.

Biofuels are adding options for drop-in, low-carbon, super-perfornance gasoline via isooctane and isooctene, as Gevo announces sales of isooctene to BCD Chemie, a subsidiary of Brenntag.

In Colorado, Gevo said that it has begun selling renewable isooctene to BCD Chemie, a subsidiary of Brenntag. Initial orders in 2015 are expected to result in revenues to Gevo of over $1 million.

And you might wonder why that matters.

The performance appeal?

One, high octane, unlike gasoline but like ethanol. Two, unlimited blending via a pure hydrocarbon and no tolerance hassle, unlike ethanol but like gasoline.

The economic appeal?

Three, the value is isooctene in Europe can range up to $7.00-$10.00 per gallon for petroleum-based isooctene and isooctane, according to Gevo.

In the US, it could be worth something like $4.35 per gallon, today.

Here’s our math on that. Adding 13% renewable isooctene or isooctane to 85-octane refinery blendstock, you get an 87-octane E0 fuel which commands a 20-cent per gallon premium over 87-octane unleaded E10, and there’s roughly 13 cents in RIN value in there also, plus you start from nickel-cheaper 85-octane blendstock in making an E0 product, instead of making 87-octane. Adding $0.38 in margin with a 13% blend gives you a $4.35 per gallon value in the additive.

Plus, use of these renewable hydrocarbons enables companies to meet regulatory requirements for renewable content in fuels while satisfying the performance requirements of their customers.

The background on renewable isooctane and isooctene

We’ve been tracking the birth of this market for some time. Earlier this year, Ronan Rocle and David Gogerty of Global Bioenergies observed in June:

Isooctane is currently derived from the dimerization of isobutene followed by hydrogenation. Another method to produce isooctane would be alkylation of isobutene by isobutane. But additional [production] steps results in isooctane and alkylate products that are, on average, 25% and 15% more costly than gasoline, respectively, with the big driver in isooctane price being the requirement for isobutene as part of the production process. 

This is where bio can have a large added value—bio-engineered microbes are great at producing specific products such as isobutene. 

Gevo and Global Bioenergies in the lead

The isooctene in the BCD deal will be produced at Gevo’s biorefinery in Silsbee, Texas, derived from isobutanol produced at Gevo’s plant in Luverne, Minn. Gevo’s biorefinery is operated in conjunction with South Hampton Resources.

Meanwhile, direct production of isobutene by fermentation has been reported by Global Bioenergies at its pilot plant in France. Isobutene evaporates from the fermentation broth, leading to no toxicity for the microbe, and is then directly recovered as a pure product. Due to the relative simplicity of this process, renewable isobutene can be produced cost competitively compared to fossil-based pure isobutene, based on five year averages.

One could then envision the production of isobutene and the dimerization of isobutene into isooctane (via isooctene) for a 100% bio-based, renewable molecule. This could come to fruition scientifically, but the renewable industry has heard one key message loud and clear—customers only want renewable/sustainable products that are at or below fossil prices. Thus, a renewable company would find it difficult in today’s market dynamic to compete on price with gasoline when it would have to make two very pure bio-isobutene molecules and saturate the isooctene product with hydrogen to produce the isooctane.

Two routes to value

Gevo is highlighting the high price route – targeting a $7-$10 fuel molecule in the EU. But, there’s premium value in the US, too.

Conversely, Global Bioenergies has highlighted a low-cost approach. Specifically, combining a high-purity bio-isobutene monomer with the very cheap refinery product, butane, to produce an isooctane molecule that competes on cost with conventional isooctane, and 50% renewable content and RIN-qualified. thus qualifying for a pro-rated RIN price that will add additional benefits to its economic feasibility.

Read more:http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2015/09/29/the-birth-of-superduper-gasoline-via-earth-friendly-renewable-hydrocarbons/

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.