The new CatFT(r) Process for a more efficient Fischer-Tropsch operation.

1. The
New
CatFT®
Process
By
Dr.
Thomas
Holcombe
President
Green
Impact
Fuels,
LLC
July
31,
2014
CatFT
!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
®

2. Fischer-­‐Tropsch
Challenges
• Heat
management
• Tight
control
of
catalyst
temperature

3. Fischer-­‐Tropsch
Challenges
• Heat
management
• Tight
control
of
catalyst
temperature
• Scalability
to
small
applicaLons
• ProducLvity
of
cobalt
catalyst
• Reduced
capital
costs

4. New
CatFT
Process
• CatFT®
addresses
each
of
these
challenges
• U.S.
patent
8,278,363
assigned
to
Green
Impact
Fuels,
LLC
• US
Air
Force
is
interested
in
small,
modular,
mobile
systems
–
and
funded
construcLon
of
the
first
CatFT
pilot
plant
• Novel
geometry
gave
very
promising
results
• Project
received
naLonal
recogniLon
award
from
ACEC

5. Novel
Design
of
CatFT
Syngas
Boiling
Water
Syngas
+
Inert
Gas
Boiling
Water
ConvenLonal
Design
CatFT
Design
-­‐
Thin
catalyst
coaLng
-­‐
Heat
conducLon
by
fins
-­‐
Much
lower
gas
velociLes
6

6. Benefits
of
CatFT
Design
• Thin
catalyst
coaLng
– Less
catalyst,
lower
catalyst
cost
– Catalyst
does
not
move
or
a[rit
– Reactor
can
be
transported
with
catalyst
inside
• Heat
conducLon
by
fins
– Faster
heat
removal,
Lght
temperature
control
– High
gas
velociLes
not
required
•
Lower
gas
velociLes
– Lower
pressure
drop
– Smaller,
shorter
reactor
– Smaller
compressors
•
Lower
cost
– Evaporators
=
low
cost,
off-­‐the-­‐shelf
substrates
– Significantly
lower
capital
and
operaLng
costs
7

7. Catalyst
CoaLng
of
Substrates
• Well-­‐established
industrial
processes
are
available
for
coaLng
substrates
with
catalyst
• Various
methods:
spraying,
vacuuming,
dipping
and
passing
under
a
“water
fall”
• Used
extensively
to
control
emissions
from
engines,
power
plants,
factories,
etc.
• Examples
of
well-­‐known
companies:
BASF,
Johnson
Ma[hey,
Umicore

8. Coated
Evaporator
9

9. Close-­‐up
of
Coated
Fins
10

10. Catalyst
Core
Photos
11

11. Simplified
CatFT
Flow
Diagram
12
Water
Storage
Vessel
FISCHER-TROPSCH BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM
CONFIDENTIAL
CatFT
Reactor
Boiling Water
Steam
Turbine
Pump
Cooling
Water
Cooler
3-Phase
Sepa-
rator
Product
Tank
Cooler
Heater
Syngas
Water
FT
Product
Blower
Gas
Recycle
Vent
Heater
Heat
Excha-
nge
Power

12. Final
Pilot
Plant
Photo

13. Pilot
Plant
Performance
Performance
as
Operated
Performance
with
gas
Recycle
Syngas
feed
rate,
lb/hr
19.5
19.1
Liquid
hydrocarbons
produced,
BPD
0.39
0.50
CO
conversion
per
pass,
%
66.2
40.0
Total
hydrocarbons
produced,
lbs/hr
per
lb
of
catalyst
0.48
0.60
14

14. Catalyst
Core
Scale-­‐up
15

15. 100
BPD
Catalyst
Core
Layout
Large
Small
Number
156
60
Dimensions
(inches)
Height
40
40
Width
33.6
26.5
Thickness
1.8
1.8

16. CatFT
vs.
ConvenLonal
Process
17
Catalyst thickness, microns
Catalyst productivity, lb/hr per lb of catalyst
Reactor productivity, BPD per bbl of reactor
Max. catalyst temperature variations, deg F
Syngas velocity over catalyst surface, in/sec
Reactor pressure drop, psi
Reactor length, feet
Physical attrition of catalyst
Inert gas or liquid recycle added to feed?
Removal of catalyst during transportation?
CatFT Process Fixed Bed Process
Conventional TubularThe New
20-30 1500
0.62 0.1-0.2
2-3 1
5 10+
10 100+
1 50
6-10 36-50
No Yes
No Yes
No Yes

17. Overall
FT
Block
Flow
Diagram
18
CatFT
Process
FT
Product
Hydro-
treating
Hydro-
processing
Distil-
lation
Diesel &
Naphtha
Recycle
Overall Process Block Flow Diagram
Syngas
Wax
Light Ends
Recycle
Syngas Production
Natural Gas
MSW
Biomass
Biosolids
Etc.
Vent Recycle
Recycled
Steam and
Water

18. Basis
of
CatFT
Economics
• 100
BPD
C5+
paraffins
produced
• Syngas
composiLon:
2.1/1
H2/CO
raLo
with
3%
nitrogen,
5%
CO2
and
4%
CH4
• Syngas
cost:
$3.00/kscf
• Shared
post-­‐treatment:
diesel
and
naphtha
separated
(disLlled)
from
wax
and
hydrotreated
• Wax
sold
as
final
product
• Budgetary
capital
costs
from
ICARUS
or
quotaLons
• All
equity
model
(no
debt
leverage)

19. 100
BPD
CatFT
EsLmated
Capital
Costs
Case 100 BPD CatFT® Plant - All Equity Model
H2/CO feed rate 3.15 million SCF/day at 2.1/1 H2/CO
On-stream factor 90 % Distillation &
Total CatFT Hydrotreating
Initial Capital Costs $ $ $
ISBL with multiple plants 2014 base year 4,065,763 3,337,285 728,478
Off-sites 15 % of ISBL 609,864 500,593 109,272
Initial spare parts 2.0 % of fixed inv 93,513 76,758 16,755
Startup and commissioning 5 % of ISBL 203,288 166,864 36,424
Project development 50,000 41,041 8,959
Total 5,022,428 4,122,541 899,888

20. 100
BPD
CatFT
EsLmated
Cash
Flow
Product Sales Unit Values $/year $/year $/year
Diesel and naphtha 3.00 $/gal 2,445,219 2,445,219
Wax 5.00 $/gal 2,823,521 2,823,521
Total product sales 5,268,739 5,268,739
Cost of Goods Sold
Syngas 3.00 $/kscf 3,105,810 3,105,810
Power 8.0 cents/kwh (263,697) (274,210) 10,51
Catalyst & chemicals 160,317 158,228 2,09
Direct operating labor, man-yrs 80 k $/man-yr 160,000 131,332 28,66
Contract maintenance 0.3 %/yr fixed inv 11,514 9,451 2,06
Maintenance labor @ 0.4 %/yr fixed inv 15,352 12,601 2,75
Control lab labor @ 5 % of oper labor 8,000 6,567 1,43
Maintenance materials @ 1.0 %/yr fixed inv 38,379 31,502 6,87
Equipment replacement @ 0.5 %/yr fixed inv 19,189 15,751 3,43
Operating supplies @ 20 % of oper labor 32,000 26,266 5,73
Plant overhead @ 60 % of oper labor 96,000 78,799 17,20
Total cost of goods sold 3,382,863 3,302,097 80,76
Gross Profit 1,885,876
SG&A @ 1.0 % of sales 52,687
EBITDA 1,833,189
Taxes and insurance @ 2.0 %/yr fixed inv 93,513
Est. depreciation & amortization 502,243
Operating income 1,237,433
Est. depreciation & amortization 502,243
First-year cash flow (before income tax) 1,739,676
IRR to owners (before income tax) 30.1%

21. Conclusions
• CatFT
geometry
offers
major
advantages
over
convenLonal
processes:
– Tight
temperature
control
– Scalable
to
small
applicaLons
– High
catalyst
producLvity
– Low
capital
cost
• Plants
as
small
as
100
BPD
can
be
profitable
Syngas
Boiling
Water