Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REFOLUTION (Refinery integration, scale-up and certification for aviation and marine biofuels production)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-01-01 bis 2024-06-30
Among solutions to reach an EU net zero emissions economy by 2050, advanced biofuels have the potential to save several gigatons of CO2 emission per year. However, their development is hampered by a complex feedstock to be processed, the massive investments needed for each new refinery unit, the lack of certification for market adoption and above all, social acceptance of the biofuel production itself.
REFOLUTION will tackle these limitations by delivering a cost-effective production (reduction of CAPEX by 50% and OPEX by 45%) of advanced biofuels from woody biomass for the aviation and marine sectors via a process that can be implemented in existing European refineries. REFOLUTION will demonstrate the transformation of bio-oils produced from fast
pyrolysis (FP) into advanced biofuels, through intermediate process steps (stabilisation, fractionation) combined with downstream co-processing technologies at different levels of severities (temperature, hydrogen consumption, carbon yield) for targeting different applications: Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) co-processing for aviation (TRL7) and marine sectors, and hydrotreating for marine biofuels (TRL6).
REFOLUTION is gathering 14 leading EU entities covering the full biofuel value chain to deploy risk-mitigation pathways for successful implementation into existing refineries. The project will deliver a comprehensive toolbox of models, standards, social assessment and exploitation pathways for interfacing with current refinery models and available documentation for further replication in other existing refineries, from a dozen in 2030 several hundred pyrolysis units
delivering bio-feedstocks to the 90+ refineries in 2050.
REFOLUTION will tackle these limitations by delivering a cost-effective production (reduction of CAPEX by 50% and OPEX by 45%) of advanced biofuels from woody biomass for the aviation and marine sectors via a process that can be implemented in existing European refineries. REFOLUTION will demonstrate the transformation of bio-oils produced from fast
pyrolysis (FP) into advanced biofuels, through intermediate process steps (stabilisation, fractionation) combined with downstream co-processing technologies at different levels of severities (temperature, hydrogen consumption, carbon yield) for targeting different applications: Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) co-processing for aviation (TRL7) and marine sectors, and hydrotreating for marine biofuels (TRL6).
REFOLUTION is gathering 14 leading EU entities covering the full biofuel value chain to deploy risk-mitigation pathways for successful implementation into existing refineries. The project will deliver a comprehensive toolbox of models, standards, social assessment and exploitation pathways for interfacing with current refinery models and available documentation for further replication in other existing refineries, from a dozen in 2030 several hundred pyrolysis units
delivering bio-feedstocks to the 90+ refineries in 2050.
The main achievements and activities in REFOLUTION for the first reporting period are the following:
FCC co-processing:
FCC co-processing with pyrolysis oil and vacuum gas oil (VGO) will be done at three different scales in the REFOLUTION project; lab-scale, pilot-scale and demo scale. Feeds and catalysts have been distributed to the relevant partners. The lab-scale co-FCC unit has been constructed, commissioned and tested with 20% pyrolysis oil. Process parameter and feed screening at lab-scale is ongoing. Pilot scale testing is ongoing to determine the maximum co-feeding ratio. MAT testing with different qualities of pyrolysis oil has been carried out to determine the effect the quality of the pyrolysis oil on the product yield of co-FCC. The design of the larger demo unit is complete, and construction is ongoing.
Hydroprocessing:
Significant amounts of pyrolysis oil, stabilized pyrolysis oil (SPO) and stabilized and deoxygenated pyrolysis oil (SDPO) have been produced and distributed to the relevant partners. Continuous hydroprocessing tests have been carried out with the goal to achieve high oxygen removal for shipping fuel quality.
To further increase the stability of the catalyst used for stabilization of pyrolysis oil, cleaning methods to decontaminate the pyrolysis oil have been carried out, and the effect on the stabilization catalyst assessed.
Fuel validation, standardization and certification:
A sample tracking strategy and an interactive web dashboard have been developed for collaborative sample tracking and fuel assessment. Analysis calibration and model improvement/assessment for low fidelity assessment of aviation fuel have been performed. Pre-screening of marine fuel samples has been evaluated and one of these samples was used for further blending and thermal/oxidative stability studies. An internal workshop has been organized on the aviation fuels approval strategy.
Process design, green tracking and digitalization:
A procedure to ensure communication between modellers and experimentalists have been prepared. In addition, REFOLUTION has made an overview of process data that already exists and summarized test specification to be used in the project. Modelling activities have been initiated.
Roadmap to sustainable business:
A REFOLUTION RRI framework, including the sustainable biofuel value chain, has been drafted. The RRI framework has been created in two parts: 1) Questions based on RRI approach (anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and responsiveness) and 2) Questions based on Societal Readiness Thinking Tool.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) has been started by interviewing and arranging a workshop to consortium members to establish the starting material for the LCA process.
FCC co-processing:
FCC co-processing with pyrolysis oil and vacuum gas oil (VGO) will be done at three different scales in the REFOLUTION project; lab-scale, pilot-scale and demo scale. Feeds and catalysts have been distributed to the relevant partners. The lab-scale co-FCC unit has been constructed, commissioned and tested with 20% pyrolysis oil. Process parameter and feed screening at lab-scale is ongoing. Pilot scale testing is ongoing to determine the maximum co-feeding ratio. MAT testing with different qualities of pyrolysis oil has been carried out to determine the effect the quality of the pyrolysis oil on the product yield of co-FCC. The design of the larger demo unit is complete, and construction is ongoing.
Hydroprocessing:
Significant amounts of pyrolysis oil, stabilized pyrolysis oil (SPO) and stabilized and deoxygenated pyrolysis oil (SDPO) have been produced and distributed to the relevant partners. Continuous hydroprocessing tests have been carried out with the goal to achieve high oxygen removal for shipping fuel quality.
To further increase the stability of the catalyst used for stabilization of pyrolysis oil, cleaning methods to decontaminate the pyrolysis oil have been carried out, and the effect on the stabilization catalyst assessed.
Fuel validation, standardization and certification:
A sample tracking strategy and an interactive web dashboard have been developed for collaborative sample tracking and fuel assessment. Analysis calibration and model improvement/assessment for low fidelity assessment of aviation fuel have been performed. Pre-screening of marine fuel samples has been evaluated and one of these samples was used for further blending and thermal/oxidative stability studies. An internal workshop has been organized on the aviation fuels approval strategy.
Process design, green tracking and digitalization:
A procedure to ensure communication between modellers and experimentalists have been prepared. In addition, REFOLUTION has made an overview of process data that already exists and summarized test specification to be used in the project. Modelling activities have been initiated.
Roadmap to sustainable business:
A REFOLUTION RRI framework, including the sustainable biofuel value chain, has been drafted. The RRI framework has been created in two parts: 1) Questions based on RRI approach (anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and responsiveness) and 2) Questions based on Societal Readiness Thinking Tool.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) has been started by interviewing and arranging a workshop to consortium members to establish the starting material for the LCA process.
A groundbreaking co-FCC multi-injector CFD model has been developed—the first of its kind. Further research, model validation, and IPR support are planned.