Bagnato, Giuseppe and Boulet, Florent and Sanna, Aimaro (2019) Effect of Li-LSX zeolite, NiCe/Al2O3 and NiCe/ZrO2 on the production of drop-in bio-fuels by pyrolysis and hydrotreating of Nannochloropsis and isochrysis microalgae. Energy, 179. pp. 199-213. ISSN 0360-5442
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
The purpose of this work was to investigate the viability of a microalgae catalytic pyrolysis/hydrotreating plant to kerosene, diesel and gasoline using Aspen Plus. A series of 2000 dry tonne per day scenarios were simulated with the final goal of determine the price in USD per litre of the drop-in fuels produced and the economic feasibility of the technique at a large-scale. Different scenarios (mechanical, solar and thermal drying), microalgae (Nannochloropsis and Isochrysis)and catalysts (Li-LSX zeolite, Ni-Ce/Al 2O 3, Ni-Ce/ZrO 2). For this work, a systematic design approach by Douglas was considered and the whole process was actualised with the Marshall and Swift Cost Index of 2016. The lowest minimum fuel selling price (1.418 $/L)was found for Isochrysis and Li-LSX-zeolite. Finally, the sensitivity analysis showed that the bio-oil yield was the most influent factor, leading to a variation of the fuel price between 1.158 $/L to 1.751 $/L assuming a 20% of variation. The techno-economic assessment and sensitivity analysis indicated that Isochrysis and Li-LSX-zeolites are promising for the production of drop-in fuels, but further research is required to further reduce the price of the feedstock production and drying to be competitive with lignocellulosic materials.