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Sustainable bio kerosene: Process routes and industrial demonstration

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.08.065

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 Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Sustainable bio kerosene: Process routes and industrial demonstration

activities in aviation biofuels
David Chiaramonti ⇑, Matteo Prussi, Marco Buffi, Daniela Tacconi
RE-CORD and CREAR, University of Florence, Italy

h i g h l i g h t s

 Routes to aviation biofuels are examined, focusing on drop-in biofuels, capable of high blend levels with fossil kerosene.
 Industrial demonstration activities are reported.
 Used cooking oil is considered as alternative sustainable biomass feedstock for paraffinic fuel production.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Alternative fuels are expected to play a major role in EU in the coming years due European Directives on
Received 5 November 2013 the promotion of renewable energies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in transports. However,
Received in revised form 12 July 2014 while in road transports a variety of possible renewable fuels (mainly biofuels, but also electricity) can be
Accepted 15 August 2014
considered, in aviation only high quality paraffinic biofuels can be adopted. This means that biomass
Available online 11 September 2014
must be converted through advanced processes into pure hydrocarbon fuels, fully compatible with the
existing systems. The aviation sector is responsible for the 2% of the world anthropogenic CO2 emissions
Keywords:
and the 10% of the fuel consumption: airlines’ costs for fuel reach 30% of operating costs. In addition, the
Biofuels
Aviation
aviation traffic is expected to double within 15 years from 2012, while fuel consumption and CO2 emis-
Bioenergy sions should double in 25 years. Thus, more than 2 billion people and 40 Mt of good/cargo will have to be
Vegetable oil moved every year. In this context, the EU Flightpath set a target of 2 Mt per year for aviation alternative
fuel by 2020 (i.e. 4% of annual fuel consumption). New processes towards bio-hydrocarbons are being
developed, demonstrated and soon industrialized.
The present work explores the possible routes from biomass feedstock to sustainable paraffinic fuels,
either through bio or thermo-chemical processes, as well as discusses those more mature, focusing on
industrial demonstration initiatives. In fact, while the number of possible options towards paraffinic bio-
fuel production is very large, and covers both thermochemical and biochemical routes, as well as hybrid
one, only two pathways are today ready for testing a significant large scale: these are FT and Hydrotreat-
ing. Major industrial activities and testing experiences are thus reported in the present work.
In this context, the ITAKA group is developing a full value-chain in Europe to produce sustainable drop-
in Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) – called HEFA – in an economically, socially and environmentally
sound manner, at large scale enough to allow testing its use in existing logistic systems and in normal
flight operations in Europe. The generated knowledge will aim to identify and address barriers to inno-
vation. Within ITAKA, possible pre-processing of used (waste) cooking oil (UCO) to make it compatible
with current downstream hydroprocessing techniques are being investigated: this can includes esterifi-
cation of waste oils, as well as catalytic thermal processing, which will be carried out in a pilot unit avail-
able at RE-CORD/CREAR. First samples of feedstock oils were collected and characterized, for further
investigation towards their conversion into biokerosene through hydrotreatment.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

⇑ Corresponding author. Address: RE-CORD/CREAR, c/o Dept of Industrial Engi-

The aviation sector is expected to become a considerable mar-
neering, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 40/44, 50134 Florence, Italy. Tel.:
+39 055 4796436; fax: +39 055 4796324. ket for advanced biofuel in the coming years [1]. There are several
E-mail address: david.chiaramonti@unifi.it (D. Chiaramonti). reasons for that [1,2]:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.08.065
0306-2619/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
768 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774
Nomenclature
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
BTL Biomass to Liquid
CTL Coal to Liquid
EC European Commission
EU European Union
FAME Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (biodiesel)
FP7 7th Framework Programme
FT Fischer–Tropsch fuels
GHG Greenhouse gas emissions
GTL Gas to Liquid
HEFA Hydrotreated Ester and Fatty Acids
 Aviation generates approximately 2% of the world CO2 emis-
sions, and covers 10% of total fuel consumption.
 More than 2 billion people and 40 Mt of good/cargo will have to
be moved every year.
 Airlines operational costs are significantly dependent on fuel
costs, which corresponds to roughly 30% of the total.
 Aviation traffic should double within 15 years from 2012, while
fuel consumption and CO2 emissions should double in 25 years.
 While some road transports could be shifted to other alternative
fuels than biofuels, as green electricity, this will not be the case
for airplanes where kerosene will always be required, either of
fossil or renewable origin.
 Airlines will also have to implement concrete actions in view of
GHG emission reduction. A target has been set in the EU: 2 Mt
aviation alternative fuel by 2020 (corresponding to 4% of annual
fuel consumption).
 Sustainability will be a key factor to gain public acceptance of
any alternative fuels: thus, advanced biofuels, i.e. those biofuels
produced with innovative GHG-efficient technologies from sus-
tainably cultivated crops or agricultural residues/wastes, will
represent the preferred option.
New processes towards bio-hydrocarbons must therefore be
developed, demonstrated and industrialized in a very short period
to meet these ambitious goals. It is estimated that by 2020 nine
refineries able to deliver these 2 Mt will have to be developed, with
an estimated total investment cost of approximately 3 billion €.
So far, innovation and industrialization of advanced biofuel pro-
duction technologies has been driven by road transports: today a
great attention is given to aviation applications, were large amount
of hydrocarbon biofuels fully compatible with existing fuel infra-
structure, distribution and utilization systems will be requested.
A common definition of drop-in fuel used in the aviation sector
is a fuel [3] ‘‘which [. . .] meet the specifications of crude oil derived jet
fuel and result in the same overall performance. As such the use of an
alternative fuel would represent no change or challenge in the ground
and supply infrastructure, airframe or engines.’’
The main technical approaches to 2nd generation biofuel pro-
duction are represented by the biochemical route and the thermo-
chemical pathway, even if hybrid (bio/thermochemical) and/or
purely chemical solutions were also developed. Typical examples
of new generation fuels are lignocellulosic ethanol (and higher
alcohols), Fischer–Tropsch (FT) fuels, green diesel/fuels from pyro-
lysis oil, synthetic natural gas, etc., as described later in the present
work. These biofuels have in common the use of lignocellulosic
(either dedicated or residual) or unconventional (e.g. algae) feed-
stocks, rather than conventional food-competing sugar or oily
crops.
A special case is represented by hydrotreated vegetable oils,
which have been commercially developed by various companies
HRJ Hydrotreated Renewable Jetfuel
HVO Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil
IEA International Energy Agency
MGTs Micro Gas Turbines
PO Pyrolysis Oil
RED Renewable Energy Directive (EC/28/2009)
RME Rape Methyl Ester
SPK Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene
UCO Used Cooking Oil
VO Vegetable Oil
for the production of biomass-derived diesel-like fuels of higher
quality (compared to FAME/biodiesel). This type of biofuels are
currently dominating the scene, with almost 2.2 Million tonnes
per year of production. However, even if a truly advanced process
is applied, the feedstock still remains conventional (lipids), and it is
therefore essential to ensure that sustainably grown crops (as
Camelina) or waste oils (as used cooking oils, or other oily resi-
dues) are used as feedstocks. More in general, HVOs requires that
sustainable means/solutions are in place in order to be considered
as a real sustainable alternative biomass-based fuel.
The target set by the EU Flightpath for the aviation sector
focuses on all production routes, but in particular considers syn-
thetic or biologically-derived paraffinic fuels from biomasses. The
biofuels for aviation must be fully compatible and blendable with
standard fossil fuels (as Jet-A fuel). These fuels must also be tested
and certified before commercial use, and emissions verified. In
addition, not only production and use must be developed and
checked, but also the entire transportation and distribution chain.
The FP7 EU project ITAKA project is focused on the analysis and
the test of solutions towards biofuels in aviation. This paper intro-
duces the issue of aviation biofuels, the production routes cur-
rently under investigation or already industrialized, and those
still at research level, the expected costs, and the efforts currently
being carried out by the ITAKA European Consortium – composed
by research centers and large companies – in the field of produc-
tion and testing of sustainable aviation biofuel.
2. Defining the European regulatory framework
Aviation, as well as the other means of transport, needs to face
various challenges posed both by climate change as well as key
financial factors. The increasing cost of conventional jet fuel and
the likely cost of meeting emission reduction targets, as well as
an increasingly societal expectation, are driving the sector investi-
gation on different pathways of fuel production [4]. The public and
political pressure on the sector to decrease GHG emission was con-
tinuously rising during last years, particularly in Europe after the
extension of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)
to the air transport sector since January 2013 [5] that will add
another component to the overall cost of jet fuel [6]. Also for this
reason the aviation industry has committed itself to reduce net
CO2 emissions of 50% by 2050 compared with 2005 levels, and to
achieve carbon–neutral growth by 2020 [7], a really ambitious
goal.
Nevertheless, the large scale deployment of sustainable biofuels
in air transport has been slow down by inadequate policies and
regulations. The Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/
EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources)
set up the objective of 10% of renewable energy consumption in
transport in 2020, promoting the use of biofuels (through the
 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774
double counting mechanism), but in rail and road sector only. The
strong effort towards the production of sustainable biofuels
endorse the terrestrial transport sector, following a limited access
for air transport to renewable sources [8]. However there are some
important recent developments in the regulatory field:
 From January 2013 it is mandatory that also biojet fuels meet
the RED sustainable requirements in order to be eligible for
exemption from EU ETS.
 The potential introduction of the Indirect Land Use Change as
new parameter (ILUC factors) to evaluate the sustainability of
a biofuel, together with the usual direct emissions, creates
new challenges to the whole biofuel sector [9].
The European Parliament, in response to the EC proposal for
amendment of the Renewable Energy Directive, on 11 September
2013 proposed a cap to first generation biofuels with potential
negative impact on indirect land use change: this class should
account for no more than 6% of the 10% target (in energy) for
renewable energy use in transport by 2020 under the EU Renew-
able Energy Directive [10]. The proposal also would ensure that
advanced biofuels with low ILUC effects account for 2.5%, counted
fourfold when derived from algae, bacteria and carbon captures.
Used cooking oils and animal fats are double counted but outside
the percentage of 2.5% of advanced biofuels [11]. This proposal is
under discussion vis a vis the European Council, which is elaborat-
ing its own position on the subject.
Currently aviation is still exempt from quotas of renewable
fuels that have been imposed on other transport sectors. However,
the ongoing discussion on the policy framework should drive the
sector – even if no mandatory targets are set – to focus on highly
GHG-efficient fuels deriving by feedstock that do not harm current
land use patterns, such as lignocellulosic fuels, or algae and waste
fuels. In other terms, not only GHG emission reduction is impor-
tant, but also the direct and indirect land use becomes a major ele-
ment in sustainability assessment of a biofuel supply chain. Finally,
depending on the outcome of the RED revision (not yet know), dif-
ferent impacts on feedstock costs will occur: aviation biofuel users
will have to carefully take into consideration to achieve economic
balance.
3. Production of sustainable aviation biofuels
3.1. Possible production routes
Conventional biofuels cannot be blended even at very few per-
centages to fossil kerosene, as fuel standards are very strict for air-
craft engines [12–17]. This applies also to distilled fractions of
conventional biofuels. The conversion of biomass into hydrocarbon
biofuels can be carried out according to various different path-
ways: a summary of the most interesting routes – currently under
investigation and demonstration by companies and research insti-
tutions worldwide – is given in the following Fig. 1.
The first route is based on vegetable oils and fats, thus on feed-
stock such as oil seeds or algae rich in lipids, or residues as used
cooking oil or animal tallow, or even co-products as crude tall oil
from the paper making industry. Esterification is not a viable
option towards the production of aviation fuel: the so called ‘‘bio-
diesel’’, is a mixture of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) to be used
as low (5–7%) blend component in road transport. On the contrary,
hydrotreating of lipids can be applied to produce aviation fuels, as
it is already done by several companies (e.g. Neste Oil, Petrobras,
ENI/UOP, etc.) for higher quality (compared to FAME) biomass
derived diesel. In addition, today Neste Oil, UOP/Altair, and
769
Dynamic Fuels are exploring at industrial case the hydrotreatment
process of vegetable oils for aviation biofuel production.
Sugars and alcohols can also be a way to paraffinic fuels. The
sugar-based approach proposed by Amyris uses microorganisms
converting the sugars into terpenes (and then kerosene, diesel-like
fuels, and chemicals), while the one proposed by Virent is based on
catalyst chemistry to produce alkanes and a range of hydrocarbons
and chemicals. The direct conversion of sugars to hydrocarbon
fuels developed by Amyris ferments the sugars to farnesene, which
is then converted in a range of products as emollients, surfactants,
industrial lubricants and biofuels, including aviation ones. Another
possible way is to grow lipids-accumulating microorganisms on
sugars, and then to extract and process the lipids as previously
described. The technology developed by the company Solazyme
[20], based on proprietary heterotrophic microalgae modified to
accumulate more than 80% oil, is a good example of industrial
development in this direction. Alcohols, especially higher alcohols,
can also be feedstock to biofuels production through dehydration,
oligomerization and hydroprocessing.
As regards lignocellulosic biomass, two possible process routes
can be implemented, the biochemical pathway and the thermo-
chemical one. The biochemical path starts with biomass pretreat-
ment, which aims at opening the biomass structure to allow the
enzyme to penetrate the feedstock and hydrolyse the sugar poly-
mers cellulose and hemicellulose. The severity of the pretreatment
step (in terms of temperature and pressure) however can generate
fermentation inhibitors: therefore, being the cellulose and hemi-
cellulose two very different polymers in terms of degradation
behavior, several companies (as Biochemtex, in its PROESA ligno-
cellulosic ethanol technology) developed a two step pretreatment
approach, which first separates and liquefies the hemicellulose
(C5) sugars and then process the cellulose (C6) at higher severity.
When monomeric sugars are available, fermentation occur by ded-
icated yeasts into ethanol and other products, and then lignin is
separated from the stream. Being lignin a phenolic and aromatic
rich feedstock, it can be the base for further processing into a range
of products, either chemicals or fuels, including aviation kerosene.
Sugars could also be used to produce aviation biofuels through the
previously described process routes: however, it has to be taken
into account that the beer is a mix of C6 and C5 sugars, and that
conventional microorganisms could process only C6 ones. Thus,
additional R&D work is necessary on this route.
The process makes available lignin as co-product: this repre-
sents an aromatic/phenolic rich feedstock, that can be processed
into a bio-reformate and then to a variety of added value products.
Paraffinic biofuels from biofuels are a possibility that will be
explored in future R&D&D projects.
The thermochemical pathway is instead based on high temper-
ature oxygen gasification followed by the well known Fischer Trop-
sch (FT) process (developed in early 1900 in Germany) [21]. FT-
Liquids are already commercially distributed by several oil compa-
nies (as premium fuel) on roads: these synthetic fuels are made
from gas or coal (GTL or CTL). The only player today commercially
operating in the CTL field is SASOL [22], a large South African pet-
rochemical company. These FT liquids derived from fossil fuels can
be blended up to 50% in aviation kerosene (Jet-A1) as they do not
contain aromatics needed for lubricity and seal swelling, the only
exception being the SASOL Fully Synthetic Jet Fuel. The same route
can be used from biomass rather than from coal or gas: however,
even if the route looks similar (and it is named BtL) [23,24] several
different problems exist and R&D is still needed before achieving
industrial application, such as the production of syngas with suffi-
cient quality, overcoming the variability in biomass feedstock com-
position and its impact on reactor operation and downstream
processes [25].
770 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774
Fig. 1. Main possible pathways to biofuels – possible aviation biofuels boxes in bold (elaborated from [3,18,19]).
The possibility to ferment syngas from thermochemical conver-
sion has also to be mentioned, as it is currently under development
by companies as Swedish Biofuels and LanzaTech. In this process,
after the gasification step the gas is fermented to alcohols or other
added value products, including paraffinic fuels.
Pyrolysis of biomass is another option to derive a liquid inter-
mediate energy carrier from a solid lignocellulosic feedstock. This
highly oxygenated acidic fuel is not suitable for transport applica-
tion and needs extensive upgrading before being processed into a
transport fuel, for instance through emulsification [26,27]. Pyroly-
sis of vegetable oil followed by further stabilization and upgrading
through catalytic hydrotreating is instead a feasible alternative to
produce bioderived jet fuels: even more interesting, the high-den-
sity upgraded pyrolysis-derived biojet fuel is rich in aromatics and
cycloparaffins, and shows excellent cold flow properties, thus a
perfect blending component with FT synthetic paraffinic kerosene
and hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid [18]. Hydrothermal lique-
faction of biomass, which is still a thermochemical process but car-
ried out under pressure and in near-critical water environment,
could instead offer better perspectives but still need significant
R&D.
The majority of these routes have not yet achieved an industrial
commercial status, and they still require pilot/demo activities (at
different level, depending on each specific case).
However today the conversion of lipids into paraffinic fuels
through hydrogenation is the only technically and industrially
technically ready route, which is already being commercialized.
3.2. Aviation biofuel production cost
The estimation of the current biojet production cost still present
a considerable degree of uncertainty [7]. Currently, aviation biofu-
els are not yet produced on a commercial scale: thus, available fig-
ures are largely derived from modeling exercises or pilot
experiences, rather than real market transaction. In this respect,
ITAKA will represent a unique experience on the field that will
allow to assess the full value chain. Evidence on biojet fuel costs
remains scarce, but recent studies, modeling processes and input
for the HEFA chain, indicate that it should be possible to produce
bio-kerosene at less than US$1.50 per liter [6]. The economic evi-
dence on the cost structure show relevant differences between
FT-BTL and HRJ production, the main two classes of alternative
jet fuel technologies already approved for use by ASTM. The first
type of biojet fuel requires large scale oxygen-blown biomass gas-
ification technology, so the capital costs represent the major com-
ponent of the cost structure, with high level of fixed costs: the total
cost should range from $0.60 to $4.1 per liter. As regards HRJ, feed-
stock cost represents a very important component, accounting for
almost 60% of the gate price, as well as the size of the facility, for a
total cost ranging from $1 to 1.16$ per liter [28]. If jet cuts have to
be maximized in the production chain versus other hydrocarbon
(diesel, gasoline, naphtha), then costs would become even slightly
higher ($US0.06 per liter) due to additional hydrogen requirements
and reduced revenues.
3.3. Use of biofuels in stationary and aviation gas turbines
Looking back to past works carried out on biofuel in gas
turbines engine or parts, n-butanol and dibutylether have been
suggested as possible alternatives for the aviation. However, the
flash point of these fuels, 35 °C and 25 °C respectively, are too
low compared to the DEF STAN 91–91 (Jet A-1) minimum of 38°
[29,30]. RME has also been tested in blends with Jet-A fuel [31],
but numerous issues must be addressed in order to adapt MGTs
to biofuels: in fact, while natural gas, kerosene, diesel oil or even
clean biogas can be directly used in micro gas turbines, biofuels
from thermo-chemical transformations biomass or raw liquid bio-
fuels as vegetable oils (VOs) need greater modifications to standard
technologies before being used. For example, viscosity largely
affects the properties of the spray during injection, generally
increasing mean droplet size diameter and decreasing spray cone
angle [32], leading to affect spray penetration. Moreover, these
 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774 771

fuels do not present the minimum cold flow properties for being
considered as possible aviation biofuels, unless further processed
into HEFA.
Commercial microgas turbines, often used as APU, have already
been tested with biomass derived fuels [33], mainly using low
heating value producer gases or biogas from anaerobic digestion
[34], [35]. Only few experiences are available for bioliquids in
MGTs mainly related to biodiesel [36] or biomass pyrolysis oil
[37]; tests with pure VO (also named ‘‘straight’’ vegetable oil,
SVO) are really of minor importance in literature [38], while some
research work was reported only in dedicated workshops [39,40].
Schmellekamp and Dielmann [39] investigated a fully commer-
cial gas turbine but did not addressed 100% SVO feeding, while
Wendig [40] studied the use of SVO from rape, flax and waste oil
in a prototype small scale 75 kWel gas turbine.
Focusing on gas turbines for aviation applications, several fights
and engine demonstrations with alternative fuels have been car-
ried out over the last years. A technical overview on the engine
demonstrations was given by Blakey et al. [41], which findings
are summarized in the following Table 1.
In June 2011 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launched the first ever
commercial biofuel flights. More than a year later, 16 airlines rep-
resenting every region of the world followed, most offering only
single flights, but some offering dozens or hundreds over fixed per-
iod of time [42] (Table 2).
flight operations in Europe. The generated knowledge will aim to
identify and deal with the main barriers to spread of innovation.
ITAKA is linking supply and demand by establishing a relation-
ship under guaranteed conditions between feedstock grower, bio-
fuel producer, distributor and final user, thus addressing the full
value chain. Therefore, ITAKA is focusing on challenges existing
in two main areas of Research and Technology Development &
Demonstration (RTD&D):
 Development of commercial scale production, and study on
implications from large-scale use.
 Research on sustainability, economical competitiveness and
technology level, as well as on new approaches aimed at
extending the list of possible feedstock.
The bio fuel sustainability is being assessed against the EU RED
Standard. In fact, the key point for the aviation industry is to
achieve a continuous production of environmentally, socially and
economically sustainable fuel, and to certify this providing
evidence. This component of the value chain is not of minor impor-
tance than pure technical issues, and cover also the possible barri-
ers in downstream logistics.
ITAKA is investigating all these elements through a comprehen-
sive R&D plan that will implement specific actions. ITAKA has been
built aiming to engage key stakeholders participating in different
EU initiatives in the field, to make a first significant step in the
establishment of such a European network.

4. Feeding suitable feedstocks to the hydrotreatment process

4.1. The ITAKA EU FP7 project
The overall objective of ITAKA in the field of Research and Inno-
vation is to develop a full value-chain in Europe to produce sus-
tainable drop-in Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) – called
HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids) – in an economi-
cally, socially and environmentally manner, at large scale enough
to allow testing its use in existing logistic systems and in normal
4.2. Feedstocks for HEFA production
As regards the feedstock, Camelina cultivation is currently
implemented at sufficiently large scale so to achieve a considerable
production of crude VO, that will then be converted into paraffinic
biofuels (HEFA). Camelina is a very promising crop that is expected
to offers a high level of sustainability, that can be grown in EU and
elsewhere in marginal land where conventional agriculture is not
sufficiently productive to be carried out by farmers.

Table 1
Summary of tests on alternative fuels in aviation gas turbine.

Test programme Fuel tested Vehicle Data measured

AAFEX JP-8, GtL, CtL, blends CFM56-2C1 PM, gaseous emissions
Engine S-8 (GtL) T63 Turboshaft, research combustor PM
environment
research facility
Engine S-8 (GtL) and aromatic T63 PM, gaseous emissions
environment solvents
research facility
Hunter army S-8 T700,T701C PM BC/EC
airfield
B52 S-8 TF33 P-103, B-52 PM
Fully synthetic CTL, Jet A1 JT9D, pressure atomizer, 4 burner sector, fully annular Engine endurance, PM, spray characteristics, gaseous
Trent combustor, annular turboshaft combustor emissions, ignition performance, lean blowout
Airbus/rolls royce/ Jet A-1, GTL A380, Trent 900 Engine performance
shell
RR corporation JP-8, S-8 Full annular AE3007 combustor PM, gaseous emissions, combustor wall temperature,
Lean blowout, 22 Ignition, pattern factor
Virgin atlantic Jet A-1/FAME 747-400. CF 6-80C Engine operation
Air New Zealand Jet A-1/SPK from Jatropha 747-400, RB211524G2-T Engine relight and overall performance
Continental airlines Jet A-1/SPK from Jatropha 737-800, CFM56-7B Engine emissions, engine performance
and Algae
Japan airlines Jet A-1/SPK from Jatropha, 747-300, JT9D Engine performance
Camelina and Algae
P&W Canada Jet A-1, 50% and 100% HVO PW615 Engine performance and emissions in support of JAL
(diesel range), by volume flight
KLM/Air France Jet A-1/SPK from Camelina 747-400, CF6-80C2 Engine performance, with passengers
Evaluation of semi S-8, IPK, GtL(3) – Non combustion performance, materials compatibility
synthetic fuels
772 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774

Table 2
Commercial biofuel flights as of May 2012.

Airline Provider Blend Feedstock Number/destination

1 Lufthansa Neste oil 50–50 Jatropha, Camelina, 1187, four daily between Hamburg and Frankfurt
animal fats
2 Lufthansa cont. Neste oil 50–50 Jatropha, Camelina, 1, from Frankfurt to Washington DC, first commercial
animal fats transatlantic flight
3 KLM royal Dutch 50–50 UCO (Used Cooking Oil) 200 flights from Amsterdam to Paris (Four daily)
airlines
4 Alaska airline SkyNRG 20–80 UCO 11 daily flights from Seattle
5 Horizon air SkyNRG 20–80 UCO 64,six daily from Portland and Seattle during three weeks
6 LAN Chile/Air BP SkyNRG n/a UCO 1, from Santiago to Conception
Copec
7 Finnair SkyNRG 50–50 UCO 1, Amsterdam to Helsinki
8 Finnair Cont. SkyNRG 50–50 UCO 4, Amsterdam to Helsinki
9 Qantas airlines SkyNRG 50–50 UCO 1, Sydney to Adelaide
10 Air France SkyNRG 50–50 UCO 1, Toulouse to Paris
11 Thompson airways SkyNRG 50–50 UCO 1, Birmingham to Palma
12 Thai airways SkyNRG N/A UCO 1, Bangkok to Chiang Mai
13 Etihad airways SkyNRG N/A UCO 1, Seattle to Abu Dhabi
14 United airlines Solazyme 40–60 Algae 1, Houston to Chicago
15 Porter airlines Honeywell UOP 50–50 Camelina, Brassica 1, Toronto to Ottawa
carnita
16 Iberia airlines ASA Airport and Auxiliary 25–75 Camelina 1, Madrid to Barcelona
Services
17 Interjet ASA 27–73 Jatropha 1, Mexico City to Tuxtla Gutierrez
18 Aeromexico ASA 30–70 Jatropha 1, Mexico City to Madrid
19 Aeromex cont. ASA 25–75 Camelina 52, Mexico City to San Jose, Costa Rica, with one flight per
week

Another feedstock that is being investigated is the so called UCO technique depends on the type of downstream processes: this pro-
(Used Cooking Oil). Compared to other more traditional oily feed- cess is normally adopted in the biodiesel sector, where in most of
stock, UCO shows a high variability in quality and composition the cases transesterification to biodiesel does not tolerate high
depending on the collection area, the collection method, and the level of fatty acids, and could also be of interest for HEFA
period of the year (when different vegetable oils are consumed). production.
Contaminations in the oil represents a serious technical challenge Other possible means for UCO upgrading could be represented
to be dealt with before catalytic hydrotreatment process. An exam- by thermochemical processing. RE-CORD is developing an ad-hoc
ple of the significant variability of UCO quality is reported in thermo-chemical treatment system aimed at upgrading and
Table 3. The two samples are taken from two different batches col- improving the oil characteristics in a significant way, in view of
lected by the same industry in the same period of the year, and further hydrotreatment. This work is still at the initial stage, and
compared to the existing standard for straight vegetable oil in a small scale catalytic pilot reactor is being built: it will be used
engines (DIN 51605). It has to be remarked that this norm DIN to test process conditions and different catalysts. Preliminary
51605 is not related to aviation biofuels, and that it is here used results will be available by end of 2014. The final goal or RE-CORD
as a first step for controlling the feedstock quality before applying R&D activities is to increase the quality of the feedstock so to make
more specific and strict standards (ASTM) necessary for the avia- it acceptable for HEFA production.
tion sector.
The upgrade of crude UCO to a suitable feedstock is an activity 5. Conclusions
that still requires R&D work, and new approaches can be
considered. Aviation needs high quality fully hydrocarbon sustainable bio-
This variability could be reduced by proper pre-treatments. fuels: the production of these drop-in fuels is the only available
Once collected, UCO is usually filtered and de-watered: water in mean to meet the target set by EU for 2020. This situation, com-
UCO can create problems in the downstream processes, and is bined with highly innovative emerging technologies, offers a great
source of damages to plant equipment, enhancing the corrosion. opportunity for developing and scaling-up advanced biofuels tech-
The water content of UCO is normally reduced by means of paper nologies and processes in an area different from traditional road
filters, a cost-effective solution with high removal efficiency. The transports.
use a paper filtration contextually reduce the amount of suspended A number of technological options exist today, most of which
solids. currently being investigated by various research groups in the
The total contamination (2 measure of the solids content) has to world and with the direct involvement of stakeholders, as engine
be significantly reduced, since solids in aeronautical engines are
cause of injector and blade corrosion and erosion, increasing the
maintenance engines costs and risks. The final biojet fuels has Table 3
therefore to meet strict specifications. Characteristics of pure vegetable reference oils (DIN 51605) and of two different
batches of UCO (sample 1 and sample 2).
Due to vegetable oil cooking processes, and contamination from
the food, UCOs usually show high free acidity (between 1% and 5%). Standard Sample 1 Sample 2
A common possible mean to improve the UCO quality, reducing Density kg/m3 900–930 @20 °C 938 916
acidity without losses in its energy content, is the esterification Water content % Max 0.075 0.043 0.94
process [43]. This process, widely used in the biodiesel sector, LHV MJ/kg Min 36.000 37,890 38,730
Total contamination mg/kg Max 24 n.d. 628
rebuild the triglycerides by using glycerine in a dedicated reactor,
Kinematic viscosity mm2/s Max 36 @40 °C 24.0 34.5
sometimes in presence of a catalysts. However, the interest in this
 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 136 (2014) 767–774
manufacturers and airlines. The two main industrial routes to
alternative fuels in aviation are FT fuels from natural gas and coal,
and hydrotreatment of lipids, while a large number of other possi-
ble production pathways exist and are currently under investiga-
tion worldwide. FT and Hydrotreating processes already
developed a significant dimension in terms of production scale to
be considered for large scale testing in commercial flights, includ-
ing transatlantic ones.
Cost projections for aviation biofuels shows that depending on
the type of process (i.e. FT or hydrotreatment), the unit product
cost will be more affected by the capital invested to develop the
plant or by the feedstock cost. This second case apply to HEFA
production.
A large European research and industrial consortium has been
established under the acronym ITKA to address the full value chain
and carry out the activities planned in each single component of
the chain. ITAKA is linking supply and demand by establishing a
relationship under guaranteed conditions between feedstock
grower, biofuel producer, distributor and final user. HVO from
Camelina, and possibly UCO, both investigated within the activities
of ITAKA, represent today the first and short-term possible chains
towards commercial application of paraffinic biofuels, even if other
pathways are expected to follow soon, such as BtL-Aviation biofu-
els (SPK), or sugar-derived biofuels.
RE-CORD consortium is investigating the possibility of using
UCO as feedstock for bio-kerosene production. The first analysis
of UCO samples highlighted a high variability in the oil character-
istics, which depends on the type of vegetable oil, the collection
area, and the period of the year when it is collected. Contaminants,
water content and viscosity are some of the issues to be addressed
before considering UCO as a possible feedstock for hydrotreatment.
As an alternative, RE-CORD is developing an ad-hoc thermo-chem-
ical catalytic treatment system aimed at upgrading and improving
the oil characteristics in a significant way, so to make it technically
compatible with downstream processes without too much effort
and costs.
Acknowledgements
Authors wish to thank the European Commission, E Energy, for
the support to the ITAKA project through the Grant Agreement no.
308807, and the project partners SENASA (ES), coordinator, and
Airbus (FR & UK), BIOTHEGEN (RO), CLH SA (ES), EADS FRANCE
SAS (FR), EADS UK LTD (UK), ECOLE POLYT.DE LAUSANNE (CH),
EMBRAER SA (BR), THE MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVER-
SITY (UK), NESTE OIL CORP (FI), SKYENERGY BV (NL), CAMELINA
OIL COMPANY SL (ES). Authors also wish to acknowledge prof
Francesco Martelli, CREAR-University of Florence, for his support
to the research activities of the consortium.
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