Production of lower carbon-intensity fuels by co-processing biogenic feedstocks: Potential and challenges for refineries

Coprocessing Biomass Fast Pyrolysis and Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Oils with Vacuum Gas Oil in Refinery Hydroprocessing

“…The integration of biomass-derived feedstocks in a traditional petroleum refinery has gained growing interest because of the increasing demand for low-carbon transportation fuels for the decarbonization of transportation sectors. − Coprocessing petroleum feedstocks with biomass-derived feedstocks in the current refinery leverages the well-established technologies and existing petroleum refining infrastructure, which significantly reduces capital investment for the conversion technologies for biomass to biofuel production. This will enable a fast introduction of biofuels to the market and quick adoption of biomass conversion technologies.…”

Perspectives of Biomass Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis for Co-refining: Review and Correlation of Literature Data from Continuously Operated Setups

“…The decision for the appropriate refinery insertion point will be made based on the physicochemical characteristics of the pyrolysis-based biocrude and targeted products, the severity level of upgrading, and the availability/capacity of the co-processing unit . Ideally, a thorough upgrading of pyrolysis-based biocrudes is considered requisite for their utilization in the existing refinery structure without disturbing running processes.…”

“…34 The decision for the appropriate refinery insertion point will be made based on the physicochemical characteristics of the pyrolysis-based biocrude and targeted products, the severity level of upgrading, and the availability/capacity of the coprocessing unit. 35 Ideally, a thorough upgrading of pyrolysisbased biocrudes is considered requisite for their utilization in the existing refinery structure without disturbing running processes. The FCC unit, which targets the production of gasoline and propylene, 36 is the most economically attractive option since it does not require the utilization of expensive hydrogen gas and uses catalysts tolerant to both higher oxygen levels and repetitive regeneration.…”

Tracking the green coke production when co-processing lipids at a commercial fluid catalytic cracker (FCC): combining isotope 14C and causal discovery analysis

“…3 An alternative approach to making lower carbon intensity (CI) fuels is to coprocess biogenic feedstocks at existing oil reneries as this approach makes use of existing infrastructure, downstream supply chains and expertise in processing/selling liquid fuels. 4,5 Co-processing has been fully commercialized in various parts of the world, such as Europe and North America, with policies such as the low carbon fuels standard (LCFS) incentivizing the production and use of lower-CI fuels. 6,7 Currently, co-processing is achieved by feeding oleochemical/lipid feedstocks, such as fats, oils, and greases (FOG's), into various unit operations in existing oil reneries.…”

“…6,7 Currently, co-processing is achieved by feeding oleochemical/lipid feedstocks, such as fats, oils, and greases (FOG's), into various unit operations in existing oil reneries. 4,8 As the global availability of lipids is limited, in the future, it is anticipated that biomass-derived biocrudes will supplement lipid feedstocks. 9,10 For example, the Swedish oil company Preem initially co-processed tall oil at their Gothenburg renery in 2010.…”