Forest Residues to Fuels: Unleashing the Potential of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Biocrude

The utilization of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) biocrude for biofuel production represents a significant advancement in the pursuit of renewable energy and sustainable development. A potentially efficient method for converting a variety of organic waste materials, such as forest residue, into biocrude, which can be subsequently refined into biofuels, is provided by the HTL process. This study delineated the potential pathways for the production of aviation fuel, diesel, and marine fuel by upgrading lignocellulosic-derived HTL biocrude that was produced through Hydrofaction, a proprietary HTL technology developed by Steeper Energy. In this article, stand-alone upgrading and co-processing pathways were identified and optimized to guarantee the maximum utilization of renewable molecules as finished fuels. With the selection of an upgrading process scheme and an entrance point at a petroleum refinery, the HTL biocrude's distinctive properties were considered. The results of the identified potential pathways for HTL biocrude market integration suggest that pretreatment is necessary for HTL biocrude to be used as a component in marine fuel blending. The pretreatment procedure was based on conventional hydrotreatment. These methods enhance the thermal stability and characteristics of biocrude, leading to a 50% increase in its compatibility with marine fuel. In addition, targeted upgrading scenarios designed to maximized diesel and jet fuel production have shown the potential to produce up to 57 barrels of diesel per 100 barrels of HTL biocrude processed in one scenario and up to 21 barrels of a jet fuel-like product per 100 barrels of HTL biocrude processed in another scenario. The co-processing experiments that involved petroleum feedstocks and mild hydrotreated HTL oil yielded encouraging results. The results indicate that it is imperative to modify the reaction conditions to preserve the quality of the product and the activity of the catalyst in comparison to the petroleum feedstock baseline.