Sustainability assessment of biojet fuel produced from pyrolysis oil of woody biomass

Abstract

Chemical processing has the potential to enable woody biomass to replace petroleum consumption as a sustainable carbon source. However, in order for this to be viable, the cost of biofuels must be comparable to that of conventional fuels derived from petroleum. This study evaluates the economic and environmental sustainability of biojet fuel produced from woody biomass. Woody biomass is converted into bio-oil via fast pyrolysis with in situ vapor upgrading. Bio-oil is then condensed, separated, and hydroprocessed to produce biojet fuel. Additionally, gasoline is produced as a side product. The processes were modeled using a process simulator. The results of process modeling were used for economic and environmental assessments and were then compared with conventional jet fuel. The results show that biojet fuel is cost-competitive with conventional jet fuel and has lower environmental impacts. The gasoline product was also considered in economic and environmental assessments. The economic analysis shows that the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of biojet fuel is $1.03 per L, with capital and feedstock costs being the main contributors to production expenses. The results of sensitivity analysis indicate that changes in gasoline price are the most significant factor impacting MFSP. According to Monte Carlo analysis, biojet fuel production has a 58.80% probability of investment risk. The life cycle assessment (LCA) indicates that biojet fuel reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 95.27% compared to conventional jet fuel. LCA sensitivity analysis results show that changes in gasoline yield have the greatest impact on GHG emissions. Overall, the study suggests that biojet fuel production can offer both economic and environmental benefits.