Periodic Reporting for period 3 - WASTE2ROAD (Biofuels from WASTE TO ROAD transport)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-04-01 do 2022-12-31
Management of biogenic waste (i.e. waste sorting and pre-treatment) has been a strong focus in the project, to allow a subsequent transformation of a diverse range of waste into intermediate bio-liquids; deploying the processes of both fast pyrolysis (‘pyrolysis’) and hydrothermal liquefaction (‘HTL’). Production of advanced biofuels will then be enabled through intermediate refining processes (fractionation, stabilisation) combined with existing downstream refinery co-processing technologies, such as co-Fluid Catalytic Cracking (‘co-FCC’) and co-hydrotreating/hydrocracking (‘co-HT’). Products to be used for road transport are aimed at gasoline and diesel with assessment of final end-use compatibility.
The project main objectives are:
1) To develop a representative and cost-effective waste supply and management system to reduce and optimise the supply costs while diversifying the (biomass) feedstock basis (in EU perspective)
2) To develop new biofuels production technology while increasing understanding and control of the whole value chain (including an economic assessment)
3) To scale up materials and testing procedures to define scenarios for the best exploitation through implementation of process schemes in existing refineries (achieving pilot-scale tests at TRL 5)
4) To develop solutions to answer key societal & environmental challenges connected with implementation of the proposed technology
The FCC pilot plant at TUW co-processed 10 wt% of a mixture of stabilized and deoxygenated pyrolysis oil (SDPO) and stabilized pyrolysis oil (SPO) from contaminated wood. The gasoline fractions of the liquid products produced were distilled and the following parameters of the gasoline fractions were analysed: density, moisture, CHNSO, inorganic contaminants, boiling curve and PIONA analysis. The analysis results indicate that the gasoline fractions produced from clean wood (reference sample) and contaminated wood are suitable as gasoline blending components. A mixture of 20wt% SDPO from contaminated wood with gasoil was co-processed in a large-scale hydroprocessing pilot plant. The final diesel was then tested at Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF) for compliancy with current standard reference norms for automotive diesels. The parameters evaluated are all in line with the EN590 specifications. The diesel sample was also tested in a vehicle to evaluate the impact on the engine emissions. The results obtained are compliant with the limits prescribed by the standard regulation for the diesel engine emissions, in line with the emission obtained with a commercial fossil diesel
The HTL bio-crude produced in a continuous process from food waste is shown to be very viscous and sticky by nature, which makes its processibility challenging. The partners investigated different techniques to improve the flowability and found that vacuum distillation was most promising. The HTL bio-crude was co-HT at pilot scale with a rich HTL feedstock in light gas oil (LGO). It was demonstrated in a 24h long test period that this feed leads to middle distillate fuels with very low oxygen content.
WASTE2ROAD evaluated in more detail the value chains based on contaminated wood, sunflower husks, food residues and black liquor. Data on composition of the tested feedstocks and the produced intermediate bio-liquids have been collected and these have been used for process modelling, flow-sheeting, design plans, and techno-economic assessment of the process. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been defined and are used to evaluate the overall process performance from various perspectives (economical, environmental, etc.). WASTE2ROAD partners aim to contribute to development and standardization of techniques for characterization of bio-oils, where one challenge lies in accurately determining the fraction of bio-based fuels in co-processed fuels (green carbon tracking).