(731e) Camelina-Derived Jet Fuel and Diesel: Sustainable Advanced Biofuels

Recently, an isoparaffin-rich jet fuel derived from camelina, a low-input non-food oilseed crop, was flight-tested by a commercial airline. To date, all test results indicate that this hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HRJ) not only meets stringent engine fuel and performance specifications but also reduces environmental emissions. The goal of this study is to determine the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cumulative energy demand, and fossil energy demand of camelina-derived HRJ as well as green diesel (GD) produced by a UOP process, and compute the GHG savings per MJ of fuel compared to petroleum-based jet fuels and diesel. The scope of this study encompasses the entire life cycle from camelina cultivation and raw materials acquisition through the production and use of the fuels in vehicles and aircraft operations. In the life cycle assessment (LCA) model, camelina is grown in Montana on either marginal lands or as a rotation crop during fallow periods on existing lands already in food crop production, thus avoiding the conflict with food cultivation and concerns with indirect land use change impacts. After harvesting, the camelina seeds are transported to a processing facility, where the oils can be extracted by a crusher and solvent based process, and with seed meal being extracted as co-product. The oil is processed to remove impurities, and then transported by rail (from Montana to Seattle) to a hydroprocessing plant for GD and HRJ production. Inventory data for camelina cultivation, transportation, and oil extraction were provided by Targeted Growth, Inc. Data for conversion of oil to HRJ and GD were obtained from engineering design data, and was supplied by UOP. All the inventory data were assembled based on energy content of 1 MJ of final fuel product, which was the functional unit of this LCA study. Energy allocation was applied to distribute environmental impacts among various products and co-products along the life cycle of each biofuel. The life cycle GHG emissions for GD and HRJ are 18.0 and 22.4 g CO2 eq./MJ fuel respectively, which represent savings relative to petroleum fuel counterparts of 80% and 75% respectively. Total energy consumption for each camelina biofuels product is comparable to petroleum fuels, but most energy is renewable biomass as opposed to non renewable fossil. Scenario analyses were also conducted to determine response to model assumptions and data uncertainty, including allocation methodology, N fertilizer application rate, N2O emission factor, source of H2, and farm diesel consumption. The results show that camelina derived biofuels qualify as advanced biofuels by the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). With expected future gains in yield, camelina oil production and hydroprocessing has the potential to provide the US an estimated 800 million gallons per year of high quality renewable fuel.