Techno-Economic Evaluation of Jet Fuel Production via an Alternative Gasification-Driven Biomass-to-Liquid Pathway and Benchmarking with the State-of-the-Art Fischer–Tropsch and Alcohol-to-Jet Concepts

Nikolaos Detsios (), Leda Maragoudaki, Stefano Rebecchi, Koen Quataert, Karel De Winter, Vassilis Stathopoulos, Nikolaos G. Orfanoudakis, Panagiotis Grammelis () and Konstantinos Atsonios
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Nikolaos Detsios: Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, 6th km. Charilaou-Thermis, GR 57001 Thermi, Greece
Leda Maragoudaki: Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, 6th km. Charilaou-Thermis, GR 57001 Thermi, Greece
Stefano Rebecchi: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant VZW, Rodenhuizekaai 1, BE 9042 Gent, Belgium
Koen Quataert: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant VZW, Rodenhuizekaai 1, BE 9042 Gent, Belgium
Karel De Winter: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant VZW, Rodenhuizekaai 1, BE 9042 Gent, Belgium
Vassilis Stathopoulos: Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management—Evripos Campus, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR 34400 Evia, Greece
Nikolaos G. Orfanoudakis: Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management—Evripos Campus, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR 34400 Evia, Greece
Panagiotis Grammelis: Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, 6th km. Charilaou-Thermis, GR 57001 Thermi, Greece
Konstantinos Atsonios: Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, 6th km. Charilaou-Thermis, GR 57001 Thermi, Greece

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-23

Abstract: Around 65% of the mitigation needed for the targeted net-zero carbon aviation emissions in 2050 is expected to come from Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). In this study, an alternative gasification-driven Biomass-to-Liquid (BtL) concept for the production of SAFs is introduced and evaluated. In particular, a fuel synthesis scheme based on the double-stage fermentation of the produced syngas (syngas ? acetic acid ? TAGs) is assessed instead of the conventional Fischer-Tropsch (FT) or Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) synthesis. The objective of the present work is the techno-economic evaluation of a large-scale (200 MWth) replication of the mentioned BtL concept, whose performance has been simulated in Aspen Plus TM (V.11) with reasonable upscaling considerations and models validated at a pilot scale. The estimated baseline Total Capital Investment (TCI) of €577 million lies in the typical range of €500–700 million that many recent techno-economic studies adopt for gasification-driven BtL plants of similar capacity, while the estimated annual operating costs of €50 million correspond to a 15–40% OpEx reduction compared to such plants. A discounted cash flow analysis was carried out, and a baseline Minimum Jet Selling Price (MJSP) equal to 1.83 €/L was calculated, while a range of 1.38–2.27 €/L emerged from the sensitivity analysis. This study sets the biological conversion of gasification-derived syngas into triglycerides (TAGs) as a promising alternative route for the production of SAFs. In general, gasification-driven BtL pathways, led by the relatively mature FT and AtJ technologies, are capable of thriving in the coming years based on their capability of advanced feedstock flexibility.

Keywords: sustainable aviation fuels; biomass-to-liquid; techno-economics; biofuels; simulations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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