Development of a hybrid biorefinery for jet biofuel production

Abstract

Jet biofuel (JBF) is identified as an essential solution to mitigate the carbon footprint of the aviation sector. Since aeroplanes rely solely on liquid fuels, the development of pathways that generates JBF as a major product has become crucial. Thus far, seven pathways to produce JBF have been developed and certified over the past decade. Each of these pathways accommodates a specific type of biomass. However, the availability, sustainability and feasibility of feedstocks to fulfil the growing demand on jet fuel remains an issue. As such, this study presents a holistic approach for the design of a state-of-the-art hybrid biorefinery that accommodates multiple biomass feedstocks across different categories including energy crops (i.e., Jatropha energy crop), dry biomass (i.e., municipal solid waste) and wet biomass (i.e., livestock manure). A Qatar-based industrial scale biorefinery was modelled in Aspen Plus® considering a pre-defined geospatial distribution of biomass and the optimal biorefinery site in the country. The hybrid system integrated advanced technologies such as hydroprocessing, Fischer-Tropsch, gasification, dry-reforming and hydrothermal liquefaction. While biomass optimal insertion streams were evaluated using a prediction model. Besides, intensive materials, heat, water and power integrations were performed to maximise JBF production, mitigate its environmental impact and control its cost. The system generated 328, 94 and 44 million litres of JBF, gasoline and diesel, respectively. Produced JBF was characterised and found to comply with all international standards. The generated JBF can substitute 15.3 % of Qatar’s jet fuel needs, while it can power around one third of its fleet considering a maximum allowable jet biofuel blend of 50 %. The proposed model achieved a minimum selling price of JBF at 0.43 $/kg, which is 22 % lower than the market price of conventional Jet-A fuel (2019). In addition, the environmental analysis of the model indicated a 41 % mitigation in greenhouse gas emissions achieved by JBF throughout its lifecycle, relative to Jet-A fuel.