(348a) Techno-Economic Analysis of the Jet Fuel Conversion Pathway Through Hydroprocessed Renewable Jet

Both airline companies and militaries are looking for a kerosene-like drop-in aviation biofuel produced economically using sustainable resources Hydroprocessed Renewable Jet (HRJ), also known as hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), catalytically converts plant (triglyceride-based) oils into bio-jet fuels. This pathway has been commercially available and been approved by ASTM D7566. The bio-jet fuel produced from HRJ has also been tested in commercial or military flights domestically or internationally. Techno-economic analyze is applied to the production pathway with consideration of variations on feedstocks, as well as integrated biorefinery concept. Feedstocks chosen for studies are plant oils, edible/inedible animal fats, waste cooking oils and algal oil. Plant oil plantation distributions are demonstrated via the GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping to indicate the availability of the feedstocks in different areas of the United States. The processes converting oil to bio-jet fuel are designed through four stages:  (1) Hydrogenation and propane cleave of the unsaturated triglycerides to saturated FFAs (free fatty acids); (2) deoxygenation of FFAs to alkanes; (3) hydroisomerization/cracking of the straight chain alkanes to branched structures to meet the cold flow specification; (4) distillation of the resulting liquid to get the jet fuel range products.  It is found that the product yield varies strongly on the FFA profile of the feedstock. The properties of bio-jet fuel produced from the design model are verified by the ASTM jet fuel specification, such as freezing point, acid content, distillation curve, aromatic content, etc. If Jatropha oil is used as a representative feedstock, the plant capacity is 465 metric tonnes of oil per day and a jet fuel yield is 237.9 gallons per metric tonne of oil. Annual production is 39 million gallon of jet fuel, and is kept consistent for all the feedstocks. Based on the assumption of 30-year plant life, 40% equity financing, 10% internal rate of return and 8% interest for the remaining debt, the minimum jet fuel selling price to this concept design is $3.54~$17.8 per gallon in 2009 dollars, depending on feedstock varieties and prices.  The prices of the oil feedstocks have strong influence on the economics of the process. In addition, the costs of the catalysts for the hydro-treating processes have significant impact on the production cost.