Techno-economic analysis of bio jet fuel production from wastes of the palm industry

Abstract

The increasing demand forjet fuel and the concern about climate change make necessary to reduce the dependence of petroleum products and search for alternatives like the use of biojet fuel. This work studies, through a techno-economic analysis,three processes to producebiojet fuel, using the waste from the palm industry as a feedstock including palm kernel oil, palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD)and lignocellulose from palm biomass. Physico-chemical properties were estimated to determine if the final product of each process met with the technical requirements established in the ASTM standards. Mass and energy balances considered the energetic self-sufficiency ofthe processes simulations in ASPEN Plus®, preventing the use of fossil energy sources. Palm kernel oil and PFAD were converted tohydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA)by esterification followed by upgrading to biojet fuel while the lignocellulose was convertedinto biojetfuel using a thermochemical conversion process composed by fermentation,dehydration, oligomerization and hydroprocessing(L-ETH-J).