Systems and methods for holistic low carbon intensity fuel and ethanol production

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12554234-B2
Application number	US-202418418518-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2024
Priority date	Aug 4, 2020
Publication date	Feb 17, 2026
Grant date	Feb 17, 2026

Abstract

Systems and methods to provide low carbon intensity (CI) ethanol through one or more targeted reductions of carbon emissions based upon an analysis of carbon emissions associated with a combination of various options for feedstock procurement, feedstock refining, processing, or transformation, and ethanol distribution pathways to end users. Such options are selected to maintain the total CI (carbon emissions per unit energy) of the ethanol below a pre-selected threshold that defines an upper limit of CI for the ethanol.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A process to provide low carbon intensity (CI) fuel, the process comprising:
selecting a CI threshold to define a limit for CI of a fuel to be provided to an end user location; selecting one or more distribution pathways to transport a quantity of the fuel from a facility to the end user location, the one or more distribution pathways selected to reduce carbon emissions associated therewith, thereby to maintain the CI of the fuel below the CI threshold; determining the CI of the fuel as a function of carbon emissions per unit energy associated with transporting the quantity of the fuel to the end user location by use of the selected distribution pathway and a determined CI of the fuel at the facility; and outputting the fuel through the selected one or more distribution pathways as low CI fuel.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the fuel includes ethanol, wherein the processing the feedstock into fuel includes:
milling the feedstock to form a grist, combining the grist with hot water for a specified time interval to form a mash, adding one or more enzymes to the mash to aid in the development of saccharides, cooling the mash, adding yeast to the cooled mash to ferment the mash, distilling the mash to a distillate and a combination of solids and leftover liquids, filtering the distillate, and denaturing the filtered distillate.

3 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more distribution pathways provides transport of the quantity of fuel to a fuel blending site whereby the quantity of fuel is blended with a refined transportation fuel.

4 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more transportation pathways and the one or more distribution pathways uses one or more of electric power generated from wind energy, electric power generated from solar energy, electric power generated by a hydroelectric generator, electric power generated by a geothermal power generator, or renewable diesel, and the one or more transportation pathways is selected from one or more of the group of rail, vehicle, or barge.

5 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the function of carbon emissions per unit energy associated with procuring the selected feedstock at the source includes carbon emissions per unit energy of the selected feedstock and carbon emissions per unit energy for providing the feedstock at the source.

6 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one feedstock from at least one of the one or more sources is selected from the group of a corn, sugar cane, beets, wheat, other grains including starch or sugar, or other organic matter including sugar or starch, and wherein the one or more sources of feedstock includes a farm or co-located farm.

7 . A system to operate a facility for distribution of a low carbon intensity (CI) fuel therefrom, the system comprising:
one or more controllers to control one or more various fuel production processes to be operated at one or more fuel production facilities, the one or more controllers including one or more processors and memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, to:
(I) determine a feedstock CI for each of one or more available feedstock from one or more available feedstock sources to be supplied to the one or more fuel production facilities via one or more available feedstock transportation pathways,
(II) for each one or more available feedstock:
(a) determine a feedstock transportation CI for one or more available feedstock transportation pathways,
(b) determine a production process CI for one or more production processes to process the feedstock into a fuel,
(c) determine a utilities CI for one or more utilities available for use by the one or more production processes,
(d) determine a set of combinations, the set of combinations including:
(1) one or more available feedstock,
(2) one or more available feedstock transportation pathways,
(3) one or more production processes of one or more fuel production facilities,
(4) one or more utilities, and

(f) determine a total CI for each of the set of combinations,
(III) determine a final selection from the set of combinations including a total CI less than or equal to a threshold CI, the threshold CI being defined as a limit of CI in providing fuel that qualifies the fuel as a low CI fuel, the CI of the fuel comprising a function of the total carbon emissions per unit energy of the fuel, (IV) in response to the final selection, transmit a feedstock request based on the selected one or more available feedstock and the selected one or more feedstock transportation pathways, and (V) in response to a determined reception of the selected one or more available feedstock at the one or more fuel production facilities, initiate, at the one or more controllers, the selected one or more production processes of the one or more production processes, and the selected one or more utilities to operate the selected one or more production processes, thereby to transform the selected one or more available feedstock to fuel.

8 . The system according to claim 7 , wherein the determination of the feedstock CI includes one or more of:
(a) a volume of each of the one or more available feedstock, (b) a type of feedstock of each of the one or more available feedstock, (c) an indirect land use change (ILUC) determination, (d) a type of fuel utilized by equipment at the feedstock source, (e) a type of fertilizer utilized for the feedstock, or (f) a location of each of the one or more available feedstock.

9 . The system according to claim 7 , wherein the determination of the total CI includes a feedstock storage CI, and wherein the memory further has instructions to:
(a) determine the feedstock storage CI based on:
(1) a time each of a one or more stored feedstock has been stored in each of one or more feedstock storages, and
(2) a time and power associated with regulating the temperature of each of the one or more stored feedstock.

10 . The system according to claim 7 , wherein the determination of the total CI is based on fuel storage tank CI, and wherein the memory further has instructions to:
(a) determine the fuel storage tank CI based on:
(1) a time the fuel will be stored in each of the one or more fuel storage tanks,
(2) a time and power associated with regulating the temperature of each of the one or more fuel storage tanks, and
(3) an estimated volume associated with emissions associated with each of the one or more fuel storage tanks.

11 . The system according to claim 7 , wherein the one or more production processes includes one or more options of one or more:
(a) to provide electrical power for the fuel production facility through renewable sources, the renewable sources comprising wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and hydrogen, (b) to employ renewable fuels in boilers and fired heaters of the fuel production facility, the renewable fuels comprising renewable diesel or renewable natural gas, or (c) to sequester carbon dioxide produced during the one or more production processes.

12 . The system according to claim 7 , wherein the determination of the final selection from the set of combinations is based on:
(a) the total CI, (b) a time of availability of each of the one or more available feedstock, (c) a time for delivery to the fuel production facility by the one or more feedstock transportation pathway, (d) a time to process one or more available feedstock utilizing the one or more ethanol production processes.

13 . The system according to claim 7

Assignees

• Marathon Petroleum Co Lp

Inventors

• Whikehart David

Classifications

• G06Q50/40

  Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083) · CPC title

• G06Q10/083

  Shipping · CPC title

• Y02P20/151

  Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, e.g. CO2 · CPC title

• E21B43/25

  Methods for stimulating production {(by vibrating earth formations E21B43/003)} · CPC title

• E21B43/12

  Methods or apparatus for controlling the flow of the obtained fluid to or in wells (E21B43/25 takes precedence; valve arrangements E21B34/00) · CPC title