SAF production from cameline oil hydrotreatment: A technoeconomic assessment of alternative process configurations
Daniel Martínez del Monte, Pedro L. Cruz, Javier Dufour
Abstract
In the recent years, the increasing demand of air transportation, the concern about the fossil resources depletion and the global warming caused by greenhouse-gas emissions have increased the interest for the viability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The hydrotreatment of vegetable oils can be considered a technologically-feasible alternative to produce SAF compatible with the current aviation technology. This process also generates by-products suitable to be valorized through different pathways to obtain hydrogen and/or power, required in the process, which shall be assessed to find the most feasible solution. With this aim, this work proposes and evaluates different process configurations for kerosene-range hydrocarbon production based on camelina oil hydrotreatment and alternative scenarios for the valorization of the co-produced light-gases. These alternatives, comprising steam reforming, autothermal reforming and power generation, are assessed from a technoeconomic perspective. The results indicate operational costs dominated by the camelina oil price and strongly influenced by hydrogen and electricity prices. The levelized cost of fuel estimated ranges between 0.57 and 0.64 € per kilogram of fuel, depending on the studied scenario, which demonstrate the techno-economic feasibility of the proposed systems.