Using our proprietary technology, Solena Fuels has developed a synthetic fuels solution and business model that addresses the historical challenges faced by the biofuels market. Solena’s synthetic fuel is a “drop-in” fuel that allows airlines and shipping companies to utilize a sustainable energy source without any changes to their engines or infrastructure. Our proprietary technology allows us to use a wide variety of heterogeneous waste feedstocks that do not compete with crops or use water. We partner with the end users of our fuel to develop a facility that allows them to sustainably operate their business.
The aviation and shipping industries consume large amounts of fuel that has traditionally been refined from fossil-based sources - predominately crude oil. The consumption of these fossil fuels is unsustainable, harms the environment and makes it difficult for airlines and shipping companies to operate their businesses. Various market drivers such as the inclusion of airlines into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (beginning in 2012) and shipping companies incurring sulfur emission restrictions while coming into ports has accelerated the need for our solution. Solena Fuels is committed to helping its partners operate in a sustainable manner by producing a synthetic, drop-in, carbon neutral, low-sulphur fuel from waste biomass.
Solena Fuels BTL Solution
Solena Fuels proprietary “biomass-to-liquids” (BTL) solution encompasses three major processing blocks. The first is Solena’s proprietary high temperature, single phase gasification technology, which has the ability to process heterogeneous waste feedstock with the highest efficiencies in the industry. This process produces a clean, bio-based synthetic gas (“BioSynGas”) that is then conditioned and fed into a Fischer-Tropsch (“FT”) reactor. This second FT processing block transforms the BioSynGas into renewable forms of hydrocarbons such as light FT liquids and FT wax. The third block is the upgrading of the light FT liquids and FT wax into certified, sustainable jet or marine fuel. Our design also utilizes heat and tail gases to produce electricity. Solena Fuels’ reference BTL design processes approximately 500,000 tonnes of feedstock into 16 million gallons of sustainable fuel, 9 million gallons of naptha and 20MW net of exportable electricity. These offtakes are in addition to the facility producing all of its own energy to operate the facility.
Superior Environmental Characteristics
Our proprietary BTL solution has superior environmental characteristics:
Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Carbon emissions are recognized as a detriment to the environment and, when emitted at the upper levels of the Troposphere via jet fuel exhaust, are more harmful as a greenhouse gas (“GHG”). The overall equivalent CO2 reduction as a result of a Solena Fuels BTL facility producing sustainable energy is approximately 2.4 million tonnes per year. This includes 126,000 tonne lifecycle saving of the sustainable fuel compared to fossil fuels, 94,000 tonnes from the production of 20MW of renewable electricity, two million tonnes from landfill gas avoidance and a further 104,000 tonnes from the BioNaphtha.
Reduced Landfilling of Waste. Our facilities can utilize post-recycled urban waste normally destined for landfill as its fuel source (feedstock). Landfilling presents several problems including: (i) the pollution of surface and underground (aquifers) water resources due to toxic substances leaching from the waste; (ii) methane emissions from the decomposing waste which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas effect and are 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide; and (iii) the long term nature of the ‘solution’ whereby it is estimated that total decomposition of all waste can take 300 (for MSW) to 600 (for hazardous waste) years in a landfill. The Project represents a solution to these problems.
Increase in Air Quality at Airports and Harbors/Ports. Our sustainable fuels generated through FT process burns cleaner than crude-based jet fuels resulting in lower levels of emissions with no SOx, minimum PMs and lower NOx levels during take-off at local airports and docking at harbors and ports.
Noncompeting BioFuels. Crop based biofuels are believed to produce harmful side effects such as creating inflationary price pressures on basic food supplies and/or the use of otherwise arable land. Furthermore, the nature of crop based fuels dictates that the facilities be located far from the end-user of the finished biofuel product. By utilizing urban, agricultural and forestry wastes near the fuel’s point of use, we eliminate many of the disadvantages associated with first generation/crop based fuels and minimize the emissions footprint associated with transporting it.
Additional Information
To contact Solena Fuels with any questions or inquiries, please email our CFO, Brian Miloski, at miloski@solenafuels.com
