Heat-Integrated Novel Process of Liquid Fuel Production from Bioresources – Process Simulation and Costing Study

Abstract

Innovative ways of providing novel sustainable solutions to reduce the emissions and consumption of exhaustible resources is called for. Production of liquid fuels from bioresources satisfies this call and it is aimed to be achieved with BIOGO project. Proposed process involves coupled reforming of biogas and bio oil followed by methanol production which is then converted to gasoline. This novel route through methanol eliminates challenging separation steps of Fischer-Tropsh process. Decentralized production in modularized small scale plants with process intensified equipment is considered. Process simulation reveals that carbon efficiency of 56 % and energy efficiency of 42 % can be achieved. Cost calculations show that with the total cost of production of gasoline at € 0.5/L; it is economically competitive with petroleum-based production and more economical than Fischer-Tropsh process. Comparison of 35 decentralized small modular plants with one centralized large scale plant reveals that the reduced construction time and operating cost of decentralized plants can outweigh the higher investment cost.