Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel

Environmental agreements and international concerns on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction policies have pushed for the search for economically viable ways to produce sustainable biofuels, such as renewable jet fuels to decrease fossil fuel-based GHG emissions in the international flight sector....

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Main Authors: Henrique Real Guimaraes, Jéssica Marcon Bressanin, Ingrid Lopes Motta, Mateus Ferreira Chagas, Antonio Bonomi, Rubens Maciel Filho, Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2022-06-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/12391
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author Henrique Real Guimaraes
Jéssica Marcon Bressanin
Ingrid Lopes Motta
Mateus Ferreira Chagas
Antonio Bonomi
Rubens Maciel Filho
Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe
author_facet Henrique Real Guimaraes
Jéssica Marcon Bressanin
Ingrid Lopes Motta
Mateus Ferreira Chagas
Antonio Bonomi
Rubens Maciel Filho
Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe
author_sort Henrique Real Guimaraes
collection DOAJ
description Environmental agreements and international concerns on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction policies have pushed for the search for economically viable ways to produce sustainable biofuels, such as renewable jet fuels to decrease fossil fuel-based GHG emissions in the international flight sector. The gasification of lignocellulosic biomass followed by catalytic conversion (Fischer-Tropsch reactions) in Biomass-to-Liquids (BtL) plants is a solution to this demand. However, this process still presents some techno-economic setbacks. Brazil is one of the major players in the biofuels market worldwide, and its existing biorefining infrastructure from the sugarcane sector can be used as the basis to support the large-scale implementation of such advanced biofuel production routes. This study compares a standalone BtL plant configuration to a scenario integrated into a sugarcane mill/ethanol distillery. Both scenarios operate by processing sugarcane bagasse and straw and, through a techno-economic analysis aided by a simulation framework (the Virtual Biorefinery), it was possible to observe that the integration was able to improve the economic performance of the BtL route. A greenfield standalone plant could not achieve economic feasibility, but the integrated configuration achieved internal rates of return of 10-12% per year. Some aspects may improve the viability of BtL plants, such as logistic chain optimizations to reduce costs with feedstock acquisition and the consideration of environmental policies and incentives to help increase revenue.
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spelling doaj.art-d4eff734547641d1a515796dd91bf18c2022-12-22T00:24:53ZengAIDIC Servizi S.r.l.Chemical Engineering Transactions2283-92162022-06-019210.3303/CET2292020Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet FuelHenrique Real GuimaraesJéssica Marcon BressaninIngrid Lopes MottaMateus Ferreira ChagasAntonio BonomiRubens Maciel FilhoMarcos Djun Barbosa WatanabeEnvironmental agreements and international concerns on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction policies have pushed for the search for economically viable ways to produce sustainable biofuels, such as renewable jet fuels to decrease fossil fuel-based GHG emissions in the international flight sector. The gasification of lignocellulosic biomass followed by catalytic conversion (Fischer-Tropsch reactions) in Biomass-to-Liquids (BtL) plants is a solution to this demand. However, this process still presents some techno-economic setbacks. Brazil is one of the major players in the biofuels market worldwide, and its existing biorefining infrastructure from the sugarcane sector can be used as the basis to support the large-scale implementation of such advanced biofuel production routes. This study compares a standalone BtL plant configuration to a scenario integrated into a sugarcane mill/ethanol distillery. Both scenarios operate by processing sugarcane bagasse and straw and, through a techno-economic analysis aided by a simulation framework (the Virtual Biorefinery), it was possible to observe that the integration was able to improve the economic performance of the BtL route. A greenfield standalone plant could not achieve economic feasibility, but the integrated configuration achieved internal rates of return of 10-12% per year. Some aspects may improve the viability of BtL plants, such as logistic chain optimizations to reduce costs with feedstock acquisition and the consideration of environmental policies and incentives to help increase revenue.https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/12391
spellingShingle Henrique Real Guimaraes
Jéssica Marcon Bressanin
Ingrid Lopes Motta
Mateus Ferreira Chagas
Antonio Bonomi
Rubens Maciel Filho
Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe
Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel
Chemical Engineering Transactions
title Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel
title_full Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel
title_fullStr Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel
title_full_unstemmed Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel
title_short Techno-economic and Environmental Assessments of Thermochemical Routes Integrated Into the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector for the Production of Renewable Jet Fuel
title_sort techno economic and environmental assessments of thermochemical routes integrated into the brazilian sugarcane sector for the production of renewable jet fuel
url https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/12391
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