Alcohol to Hydrocarbons

Volume
Part F3771
Start Page
759
End Page
790
Citation
In: Powerfuels : Status and Prospects / edited by Nils Bullerdiek, Ulf Neuling, Martin Kaltschmitt. - 1st ed. 2025. - Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland ; Cham : Imprint: Springer, 2025
Publisher DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-62411-7_26
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85212251366
Publisher
Springer
ISSN
18653529
ISBN
978-3-031-62411-7
Alcohols such as methanol and ethanol are crucial for various applications, particularly in the chemical industry and as fuel components. Ethanol, which today is mainly produced from biomass, already contributes significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the road-based transportation sector. However, the direct and pure use of renewable alcohols in various transportation sectors is associated with problems due to their hygroscopic properties and lower energy density. While blending with hydrocarbons is possible in road transport, it is not suitable for aviation. The conversion of these alcohols into long-chain hydrocarbons such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel offers a viable solution that fits seamlessly into the existing fuel infrastructure. This paper analyses the process routes from alcohol to hydrocarbon components and demonstrates their potential to defossilize the mobility sector. The alcohol-hydrocarbon route is not yet being implemented on a commercial scale. One of the main obstacles is the relatively higher cost of such alcohols compared to the price of fossil fuels and the possibility of using such alcohols directly for road-based transportation without further processing.
Subjects
Alcohol-to-Jet | Dehydration | Fuel production | Hydrocarbon production | Oligomerization
DDC Class
660: Chemistry; Chemical Engineering
333.7: Natural Resources, Energy and Environment