Grant: Alliance Grants
University of Saskatchewan
$320,001.00
Production, Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Analysis of Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Agro-Forestry Residues
FY 2023-24
Summary
The aviation industry is one of the fastest growing modes of transportation sector with an expected annual increase rate of 5% in air traffic until 2030. Currently, the aviation industry is responsible for 12% of the CO2 emissions from various modes of transport sectors and it is expected to grow at a 4.1% of compound annual growth rate near future. Therefore, to address the climate change concerns, the Air Transport Action Group has set ambitious goals to stabilize the net CO2 emissions of the aviation sector by developing a carbon-neutral aviation fuel that is considered a promising alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this proposal bridges the gap of producing less carbon-intensive sustainable aviation drop-in fuels from agricultural and forestry-derived feedstock along with biogasoline and biodiesel. Several technologies are in practice to produce bio-jet fuels, among them hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids technology are more mature although they has high production costs. Recent studies revealed that hydrotreated depolymerized cellulosic jet technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction followed by upgrading have shown lower production costs, high yield, and modest capital costs relative to other technologies. Thus, the current proposal will investigate the production of bio-jet fuel via hydrothermal liquefaction followed by biocrude extraction and fractionation, blending and co-processing via catalytic hydrodeoxygenation, catalytic cracking, and isomerization to produce aviation fuels. The main objective of hydrodeoxygenation is to remove the oxygen from the biocrudes and enhance oxidative stability and calorific value. Hydrochar will be used as catalyst support that is produced during the co-hydrothermal liquefaction to develop hydrodeoxygenation catalysts. After investigating the bio-jet fuel production pathway, techno-economic feasibility and environmental impacts will be studied for scale-up and commercialization. The outcomes of this project will offer the best solutions to our industrial partner Tidewater Renewables in developing sustainable aviation fuel production process. Besides, this proposal will enable other Canadian renewable energy companies to improve their profit margin for bio-jet fuel production.
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
580321-2022
Name nom
Dalai, Ajay AK
Department département
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Organization id
16
Institution établissement
University of Saskatchewan
Province en
Saskatchewan
Province fr
Saskatchewan
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2023
Competition year année de concours
2022
Award amount
320001
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
303
Area of application group en
Energy resources
Area of application group fr
Ressources d'énergie
Area of application en
Alternative energy resources
Area of application fr
Autres ressources d'énergie
Research subject code
2303
Research subject group en
Fuel and energy technology
Research subject group fr
Other sources of energy (solar, wind, etc.)
Research subject en
Combustibles et technologie de l'énergie
Research subject fr
Autres sources d'énergie (combustibles solaire, éolien, etc).
Application title
Production, Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Analysis of Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Agro-Forestry Residues
Keyword
Agro-forestry residues; Biocrude; Biodiesel; Biogasoline; Hydrocracking; Hydrodeoxygenation; Hydrothermal liquefaction; Isomerization; Sustainable aviation fuel; Techno-economic analysis.
Application summary
The aviation industry is one of the fastest growing modes of transportation sector with an expected annual increase rate of 5% in air traffic until 2030. Currently, the aviation industry is responsible for 12% of the CO2 emissions from various modes of transport sectors and it is expected to grow at a 4.1% of compound annual growth rate near future. Therefore, to address the climate change concerns, the Air Transport Action Group has set ambitious goals to stabilize the net CO2 emissions of the aviation sector by developing a carbon-neutral aviation fuel that is considered a promising alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this proposal bridges the gap of producing less carbon-intensive sustainable aviation drop-in fuels from agricultural and forestry-derived feedstock along with biogasoline and biodiesel. Several technologies are in practice to produce bio-jet fuels, among them hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids technology are more mature although they has high production costs. Recent studies revealed that hydrotreated depolymerized cellulosic jet technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction followed by upgrading have shown lower production costs, high yield, and modest capital costs relative to other technologies. Thus, the current proposal will investigate the production of bio-jet fuel via hydrothermal liquefaction followed by biocrude extraction and fractionation, blending and co-processing via catalytic hydrodeoxygenation, catalytic cracking, and isomerization to produce aviation fuels. The main objective of hydrodeoxygenation is to remove the oxygen from the biocrudes and enhance oxidative stability and calorific value. Hydrochar will be used as catalyst support that is produced during the co-hydrothermal liquefaction to develop hydrodeoxygenation catalysts. After investigating the bio-jet fuel production pathway, techno-economic feasibility and environmental impacts will be studied for scale-up and commercialization. The outcomes of this project will offer the best solutions to our industrial partner Tidewater Renewables in developing sustainable aviation fuel production process. Besides, this proposal will enable other Canadian renewable energy companies to improve their profit margin for bio-jet fuel production.
