Production of sustainable aviation fuel through biomass - Experimental and simulation approach
Moaaz Shehab is a PhD student in the department Sustainable Process Technology. Promotors are prof.dr.ir. E. Zondervan and prof.dr.ing. M.B. Franke from the faculty of Science & Technology.
In this thesis, special attention is given to the influence of biomass characteristics and their uncertainties on the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). As SAF mandates are being introduced to reach net-zero carbon emissions in the aviation sector, reliance on biomass feedstocks is growing; however, it comes with challenges and obstacles. Many pathways and configurations are being developed and scaled up to reach their full commercial potential. Resolving the challenges associated with biomass characterization will pave the way to the successful use of biomass in SAF production. Therefore, this thesis has two phases: an experimental and a simulation phase.
Firstly, the experimental phase aims to improve the measurements of the biomass characteristics in the laboratory by performing a key comparison of the measurement techniques between different metrological institutes in the EU. The overarching goal of this phase was to lower the measurement uncertainty by improving repeatability and reproducibility. Eventually, new modifications to the ISO standards will be proposed. The improvement in the measurement accuracy directly impacts the values of purchasing and taxing biomass, as aspects like the energy and moisture content play a significant role in setting these values. Moreover, these improvements are expected to enhance biorefinery processes' design, performance, and yield.
The second phase focuses on the impact of different types of biomass, their heterogeneity, and uncertainty on the production of SAF. Therefore, the various pathways of SAF production were comprehensively analyzed while considering technical and non-technical aspects to determine the most promising routes for producing SAF from biomass. Moreover, the analysis assessed the EU's biomass potential for SAF, focusing on its ability to meet proposed EU mandates for SAF uptake in the short and long term. After this analysis, several steady-state models for the Fischer Tropsch and Methanol to Jet were simulated in Aspen Plus commercial software. These models aimed to determine the influence of the experimentally determined biomass characteristics and their uncertainties on SAF production. Moreover, the models were used to determine the optimal and cost-effective pathway for SAF production through biomass. Different approaches, configurations, and tools were employed to achieve this objective, such as process simulation, sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and techno-economic analysis.
