Computer aided-design of castor bean fruit-based biorefinery scheme to produce sustainable aviation fuel

Abstract

In the aviation sector, the production and use of renewable aviation fuel is one of the most suitable alternatives to embrace its sustainable development. For this, the evaluation of different raw materials and processing schemes is required. In Mexico, the energy crop with more potential for the production of renewable aviation fuel is Higuerilla (Ricinus communis L.), also known as castor bean, which does not require fertilizers or pesticides. Thus, in this work, the conversion of the castor bean fruit through a biorefinery scheme to produce sustainable aviation fuel, other biofuels and value-added products is proposed. The biorefinery scheme, modelled in Aspen Plus, considers four main processing zones to generate platform and sale products. Results indicate that biojet fuel represents the 43% of total hydrocarbons produced, which is roughly 300 times higher than the actual demand of the 12 main Mexican airports. The biorefinery consumes 10.46% of generated power by turbines; thus, it is self-sufficient in terms of electricity requirements. Nevertheless, its invested energy by heating is 31.52 higher than the energy provided by the products and the MSP of biojet fuel is 22.93 times higher than its price in the market; thus, it is necessary to reduce the energy consumption for improving the profitability of the process.