The Impact of Intensity: Process Development and Deployment - GTI's Biofuels, Gasification, and Advanced Power Initiatives

Process intensification helps to commercialize new technologies that are cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The recent experience of the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) demonstrates the importance of process intensification when it is applied to the development of biofuel technologies, gasification processes, and advanced power systems. Four process examples help to make this connection. The IH²® process, an optimized second-generation biomass conversion technique, benefits from a first-stage reactor wherein biomass feedstocks are devolatilized and deoxygenated in a single step. The Compact Gasifier program combines a revolutionary Dry Solids Pump with a proprietary gasifier based on rocket engine technology. The sCO₂ Brayton Cycle uses supercritical carbon dioxide as the working fluid in power plant turbomachinery to improve process efficiency and thereby reduce fossil carbon emissions and increase sustainability. Finally, GTI’s Compact Hydrogen Generator has demonstrated the potential to produce hydrogen in one step, and power via a hydrogen turbine, at significantly reduced CAPEX and OPEX while also reducing CO2 capture costs. In each case, a strategy based on process intensification has provided unique advantages and enabled rapid progress toward commercialization.