(343d) Hydroprocessing of Biomass-Derived Thermal Deoxygenation Oil for Producing Renewable Jet Fuel

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant and renewable resource that can be used for producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to reduce greenhouse gas emission in the aviation industry. In this study, lignocellulosic biomass-derived Thermal DeOxygenation (TDO) oil is hydroprocessed and upgraded to jet fuel range hydrocarbons. TDO oil is a type of highly deoxygenated biocrude produced through non-catalytic thermochemical conversion of neutralized biomass acid hydrolysate.

Sawdust from Northern White Pine is converted into a mixture of levulinic and formic acids by acid hydrolysis and dehydration. The organic acids are neutralized with calcium hydroxide to produce organic salts and thermally deoxygenated to bio-crude oil through slow pyrolysis in a pilot-scale continuous flow reactor at 450 °C and atmospheric pressure. The crude TDO oil consists primarily of mono and polyaromatics, and has a broad boiling range (75-550 °C) and a very low oxygen content (< 5 wt %). The TDO oil is hydroprocessed using a commercial Ni/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ catalyst at 300 °C and at 5.2 MPa of hydrogen in a continuous flow tubular reactor. Hydroprocessed TDO oil is distilled into jet fuel range hydrocarbons (180-250 °C), characterized, and compared with commercial and military aviation and turbine fuel standards (ASTM and MIL-DTL standards). The chemical and physicochemical properties of crude TDO oil, hydroprocessed TDO oil, and TDO-jet fuel are analyzed according to the ASTM methods. Further the TDO-jet fuel is blended appropriately into conventional petroleum-derived commercial jet fuel to meet the aviation fuel specifications.