SunAlfa – System-oriented analysis of processes for renewable fuels form forest raw material

Facilitating gasification of biomass for jetfuel production

In this project, a new method for conversion of biomass to renewable jetfuel has been assessed. Parts of the technology is being verified in experiments in a parallell project.

Bringing a national production of biofuels of scale closer, the results can lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions from aviation.

An important incentive for the transision is the obligation imposed on biofuel producers to to gradually increase the mix of biofuels into jetfuel. In 2030, the biofuel share has to reach 30 percent.
Normally, the biomass used in termochemical conversion via gasification needs to be dried, which can present difficulties when feeding it into a pressurized biomass gasifier. The researchers in this project have found a way to hydrothermally pre-treat the biomass, turning it into a liquid slurry that can be pumped into the gasifier. This changes the sensitivity of the conversion to moist material, making it possible to use both wet and mixed residues from forestry and agriculture.

Calculations on the whole process chain, from biomass to Fischer Tropsch wax – the raw material for fuel production have been performed, and the results have also been used in a life cycle analysis.

Energy, mass and coal efficiency rates were 34.5, 20.2, and 32.3 percent, respectively, well in line with other biofuel production technologies.

Compared to fossil jetfuel, the LCA analysis shows that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by about 90 percent with the suggested technology. This presupposes using Swedish forest raw materials and Swedish electricity mix in the production process.

The project’s system calculations are experimentally verified in a parallel project led by RISE. The aim is to ensure the practical implementation of the technology, a possible upscale and subsequent commercialization.