European Refinery Integration of Sustainable Aviation Fuels

Abstract

European refineries have to respond in very short-term to the European Climate Law of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. According to the European Green Deal, all sectors will reduce GHG emissions by at least 55 % by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. That effects the entire refinery customer base and the individual product portfolio and output. Especially aviation and shipping will continue to rely on liquid fuels and provide growing demand. Refineries are obliged to supply an increasing share of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) at EU airports as part of the ReFuelEU Aviation sustainable air transport initiative. New feedstocks like alternative carbon sources and renewable electricity have to be explored and new production routes have to be implemented quickly. Investment decisions are pending. DLR’s approach of standardized techno-economic and ecological assessment of all SAF production routes can assist in the strategic shift of refinery portfolios. DLR uses its in-house software tool TEPET (Techno Economic Process Evaluation Tool) to maximize the process efficiency, identify cost drivers and to determine its environmental impact. Different SAF options are compared and analyzed in terms of technical potential and challenges, fuel production costs, GHG footprint and GHG abatement costs. Experimentally validated process models derived from European research projects are available to be scaled to industrial plant size. Optimized heat integration helps to maximize the process efficiency. Our cost estimation follows the standard chemical process cost engineering methodology and is automated in TEPET. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed based on standard methodology (ISO 14040/14044), providing the GHG abatement results the aviation industry is asking for. A significant SAF production ramp-up at moderate costs and remarkable GHG abatement are the three key criteria aviation is demanding from future fuel suppliers, and can be predicted by DLR’s methodology in a standardized approach. For each sustainable feedstock, technology options are available. Strategic refinery adaptation is mandatory and feasible. The impact of economic boundaries such as plant location, biomass price, key equipment costs and economy of scale can be shown by conducting sensitivity analyses of the most influencing parameters and assumptions. A realistic outlook for European SAF production by 2030 is necessary. What production costs, GHG emission reduction and overall production potential can be expected for different approaches? What are advantageous regions for European SAF production and what option for gentle system integration might be considered? What barriers prevent the Europe from reaching its GHG emissions reduction commitment by 2030? All these questions will be addressed in a presentation from an aviation point of view.