Performance of Structural Alloys in Bio-oil Production, Upgrading, and Storage Systems

James R. Keiser, Michael P. Brady, Jiheon Jun, Dino Sulejmanovic, Michael D. Kass

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Selection of corrosion-resistant, cost-effective structural materials for the process and containment vessels required for the production, upgrading, and storage of biomass-derived oils has been the subject of study in our laboratory for many years. The wide variety of biomass resources and the many liquefaction techniques and processing conditions result in products with a broad range of properties and compositions. This paper will address the materials issues in three distinct areas. In production, materials are exposed to temperatures that range from 350 to 550 °C depending upon the process. Generally, austenitic stainless steels have performed reasonably well, although thicker oxide scales and intergranular attack have sometimes been observed. For storage and transport of the bio-oil products, temperatures experienced by the containment materials are not expected to exceed 50 °C. Our studies have shown that most raw bio-oils contain significant concentrations of organic acids, and low-molecular-weight organic acids were quite corrosive to carbon and low alloy steels. For some applications, subsequent processing is required, which includes hydrotreating or co-processing with a petroleum-derived liquid. These processes utilize a catalyst that requires periodic retreatment with a sulfidizing gas, and the exposure to this gas at elevated temperatures can cause appreciable corrosion to the more common austenitic stainless steels. The materials considered most cost-effective and sufficiently corrosion-resistant for each of these environments were identified.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1104-1115
Number of pages12
JournalEnergy and Fuels
Volume37
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 19 2023

Funding

Maggie Connatser and Sam Lewis, Sr. conducted the initial bio-oil chemical analyses, and their studies are referenced at several points in this publication. Mike Howell, Adam Willoughby, Gavin Warrington, and Mike Stephens conducted the 1000 h corrosion tests, and Gavin Warrington also carried out the corrosion studies with the bio-oil-HFO blends. Victoria Cox and Colton O’Dell conducted the metallographic sample preparation and the light microscopy, and Tracie Lowe conducted the SEM and SEM-EDS studies. The efforts of Dr. Rishi Pillai, Dr. Mackenzie Ridley, and Dr. Sebastien Dryepondt for reviewing this report are sincerely acknowledged. Funding for these studies was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. government purposes. The DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). Maggie Connatser and Sam Lewis, Sr. conducted the initial bio-oil chemical analyses, and their studies are referenced at several points in this publication. Mike Howell, Adam Willoughby, Gavin Warrington, and Mike Stephens conducted the 1000 h corrosion tests, and Gavin Warrington also carried out the corrosion studies with the bio-oil–HFO blends. Victoria Cox and Colton O’Dell conducted the metallographic sample preparation and the light microscopy, and Tracie Lowe conducted the SEM and SEM–EDS studies. The efforts of Dr. Rishi Pillai, Dr. Mackenzie Ridley, and Dr. Sebastien Dryepondt for reviewing this report are sincerely acknowledged. Funding for these studies was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. government purposes. The DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).

FundersFunder number
DOE Public Access Plan
U.S. Government
U.S. Department of Energy
Bioenergy Technologies OfficeDE-AC05-00OR22725

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