Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment of jet fuels production from waste cooking oil via in situ catalytic transfer hydrogenation

Elena Barbera, Rustem Naurzaliyev, Alexander Asiedu, Alberto Bertucco, Eleazer P. Resurreccion and Sandeep Kumar

Renewable Energy, 2020, vol. 160, issue C, 428-449

Abstract: This work evaluates the feasibility of renewable jet-fuel production from waste cooking oil (WCO) via catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) using isopropanol as hydrogen donor. Results were compared to a commercial hydroprocessed renewable jet (HRJ) fuel technology, employing process simulation-based techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA). The two routes were compared in terms of product yield, energy consumption, economic and environmental metrics, and allocation methods. The total capital expenditure of CTH plant (7.3M$) was significantly lower than that of HRJ ($149.7M$). The annual revenues were comparable (∼150M$/year), due to similar fuel yields. To be profitable, the liquid fuel should be sold at $3.00/gal and $1.67/gal for CTH and HRJ, respectively. The cumulative fossil energy demand (CED) of HRJ was 1.6 times that of CTH and the total 100-year GWP of CTH was 8% less than HRJ’s, with both systems not sequestering CO2 through co-product offsets. Mass-, energy-, and market-value allocations were utilized. Sensitivity analysis indicated that both systems were driven by transportation factors and not process inputs. Trend analysis on CTH’s energy-return-on-investment (EROI) showed that wide improvements could be made in energy efficiency (EROI = 10.30–11.30). From an investment/construction perspective, CTH (95% cheaper) appears to outperform HRJ at similar revenues.

Keywords: Renewable jet fuels; Waste cooking oil; Process simulation; Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:160:y:2020:i:c:p:428-449

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.06.077

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