Power and Biomass to Liquid - Unlocking the full potential of biomass for sustainable aviation fuel production

Abstract

A techno-economic-environmental evaluation of a PBtL process based on a detailed process simulation is presented. The process model is based on experimental results from the EU-project FLEXCHX and features a novel low-cost design for small-scale production plants. Along with a staged fixed bed gasifier, a sorbent-based gas cleaning system was successfully demonstrated in conjunction with a Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The fuel production costs rely on cost functions derived with technology experts from the FLEXCHX consortium. For the estimation of the plant’s carbon footprint, a set of different national biomass feedstocks and electricity mixes is considered. The techno-economic-environmental analysis is conducted using DLR’s software tool TEPET in connection with an Aspen Plus simulation. With this evaluation tool a discussion of crucial process parameters leads to an optimized process flowsheet. Advantages of the PBtL process in terms of CO2 abatement costs compared to other biofuel paths will be highlighted. Further, given the increasingly limited amount of sustainable biomass feedstock, it will be shown what fraction of European aviation fuel demand can be covered by the PBtL process. With that, the possible role for PBtL in the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative towards sustainable aviation fuel production will be discussed.