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US 12,554,234 B2Granted
Systems and methods for holistic low carbon intensity fuel and ethanol production
AssigneeMarathon Petroleum Company LP
InventorDavid Whikehart
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims22
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 more elements
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.
12 more elements
A fuel integration controller for distribution of a low CI fuel, the fuel integration controller comprising:
- an input/output in signal communication with a first computing device, such that the fuel integration controller is configured to:
- (a) determine a fuel CI for the fuel at a facility and a selection of one or more distribution pathways, each selection based on:
- (1) the determined fuel CI
- (2) a determination of fuel distribution CI of one or more fuel distribution pathways based on delivery distance and fuel type used in the one or more fuel distribution pathway, and
- (3) a determination of one or more total CIs less than the threshold CI, the total CIs based on varying combinations of the determinations of CI, and
- (b) in response to the selection of one or more fuel distribution pathways that maintain the total CI less of the fuel than or equal to the threshold CI, transmit a deliver the fuel via the selection of the one or more fuel distribution pathways.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.