Descrizione del progetto
Modello sostenibile e competitivo in termini di costi per lo sviluppo di carburante microalgale per aviazione
Le microalghe potrebbero svolgere un ruolo cruciale nell’obiettivo dell’UE di aumentare la quota di carburanti sostenibili per l’aviazione (SAF, sustainable aviation fuel) nell’industria aeronautica dal 2 % nel 2025 al 64 % entro il 2050. Il progetto SusAlgaeFuel, finanziato dall’UE, intende sviluppare un modello di produzione circolare di SAF a base di microalghe efficiente ed economico. Il progetto si avvarrà della cattura diretta di CO2 dalla valorizzazione del biogas, dell’uso di digestato liquido di scarto per la crescita delle alghe, di una nuova tecnologia analitica di processo in linea, di processi di bioraffineria a cascata e di percorsi termocatalitici specifici per le alghe per una conversione efficiente del carburante. Verrà inoltre valutata la scalabilità e creato un piano di commercializzazione, che culminerà nella creazione e nella gestione di un impianto microalgale unico nel suo genere in Irlanda.
Obiettivo
Microalgae can play a critical role in meeting EU targets to increase the share of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) in the aviation industry from 2% in 2025 to 64% by 2050. SusAlgaeFuel will develop integrated approaches in a circular production model towards the first cost-competitive (reduced by 49% from 12.3 to 6.3 $/kg HEFA) and efficient microalgae SAF: a) direct capture of CO2 emissions from biogas upgrading from Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and utilisation of waste liquid digestate as low-cost nutrient source to support algae growth; b) novel in-line process analytical technology complemented with machine learning and selective UV irradiation to monitor and purify bacterial contamination in algae culture; c) cascading biorefinery that relies on energy-saving autolysis and maximises solvent recycling to fractionate biomass into lipids (for jet fuel), protein serum (for feed) and cellulose-rich biomass residue (for further fuel conversion) at low energy & solvent requirements; d) algae-specific thermocatalytic pathways for efficient conversion of algae-lipids to Hydroprocessed Esters Fatty Acids-Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK) and residue to kerosene followed by a range of purification methods for fuel refinement to meet international aviation standards & certification.
Process simulations, techno economic & LCA will be performed to assess scalability from economic, social & environmental perspectives and to identify process improvements. A dedicated commercialisation plan and policy recommendations will be produced to guide future technology transfer from lab to industry. SusAlgaeFuel will culminate in the building & operation of a pilot-scale algal facility on an AD operator site in Ireland (TRL5) with the capacity to directly capture CO2 from AD flue gas, use waste digestate and produce ≥10 kg of algae lipids per year. Successful future scaling of the technology has the potential to deliver 20% of EU’s projected SAF requirements of 5Mt in 2030.
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinatore
4 Dublin
Irlanda