Wood Derived Fast Pyrolysis Bio-liquids as Co-feed in a Fluid Catalytic Cracking Pilot Plant: Effect of Hydrotreatment on Process Performance and Gasoline Quality

Abstract

Co-feeding biogenic feeds in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units benefits from exploiting existing refinery assets to produce biogenic fuels. It is the most cost-effective way to comply with step-by-step increasing the target of renewable energy in road and rail transport of the European Union. Fast pyrolysis bio-liquids derived from wood offer a unique opportunity to reach those targets without having to address the typical food vs fuel debate. In the present work bio-liquids derived from pinewood in different stages of treatment were tested for their processability in a pilot scale fluid catalytic cracking plant at 550 °C. Specific focus is on the quality of the derived gasoline fractions. All samples were co-fed with vacuum gas oil, a typical FCC feed. Relevant parameters to qualify the produced gasoline as blending component were analyzed. As main results, none of the parameters examined significantly affect the quality of the—now partially biogenic—gasolines, demonstrating the potentiality of the co-FCC process as a possible near future pathway to ensure high biofuel contents in commercially available fuels.

Virtual Special Issue of Recent Advances in Biofuel Production via Co-refining Route

“…Lutz et al studied the effect of hydrotreatment on process performance and gasoline quality when wood-derived FPBOs are used as co-feed in an FCC pilot plant and concluded the potentiality of the co-FCC process as a possible near-future pathway to ensure high biofuel contents in commercially available fuels. Janosik et al presented an approach that involves complete dewatering of FPBO, followed by esterification.…”

“…Both cracking and the capability to remove oxygen from the biocrude are required from these processing units, and therefore, co-processing could potentially take place in the fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), hydrotreater, or hydrocracker. Lutz et al 11 studied the effect of hydrotreatment on process performance and gasoline quality when wood-derived FPBOs are used as co-feed in an FCC pilot plant and concluded the potentiality of the co-FCC process as a possible near-future pathway to ensure high biofuel contents in commercially available fuels. Janosik et al 12 presented an approach that involves complete dewatering of FPBO, followed by esterification.…”

Customized Atmospheric Catalytic Hydropyrolysis of Biomass to High-Quality Bio-Oil Suitable for Coprocessing in Refining Units

“…Coprocessing of the FPBO in industrially available refinery processes, such as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), is considered beneficial to produce high-value chemicals of gasoline, light olefins, and middle distillates, while part of their carbon is biogenic. The coprocessing of the FPBO in the FCC unit has been widely investigated considering different upgrading methods, − such as catalytic upgrading and hydroprocessing, , FCC catalyst advancement, , as well as catalytic cracking condition optimization. The addition of pyrolysis bio-oil (up to 10 wt % feed share) was reported to provide successful processing with minor effect on the produced fuel quality. ,, One of the main reasons for upgrading the FPBO via a hydrotreatment process is to be able to introduce this valuable renewable product into the current refinery units and replace the fossil-based carbon resources with renewable ones.…”

Coprocessing Partially Hydrodeoxygenated Hydrothermal Liquefaction Biocrude from Forest Residue in the Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking Process

“…Hydrotreating the biocrude was noted to relieve catalyst deactivation during coprocessing by removing coke-forming species and metals like Fe and K. Pyrolysis bio-oils are much harder to process than HTL biocrudes because of their extreme oxygen content (up to 40 wt %) and low chemical stability. The benefits of hydrotreating pyrolysis bio-oil before coprocessing through FCC have been highlighted by various research groups. ,− It is generally concluded that hydrotreating pyrolysis bio-oil helps to reduce coke formation and deterioration of product selectivity. The coprocessing of hydrodeoxygenated pyrolysis bio-oil with straight-run gas oil in a hydrotreating process has also been investigated .…”