Process simulation and techno-economic assessment of Salicornia sp. based jet fuel refinery through Hermetia illucens sugars-to-lipids conversion and HEFA route

Succulent halophyte Salicornia sp. was characterized to evaluate its suitability for biorefinery, as soil salinization is seen as a major agricultural issue and the demand for biofuel is increasing. Green fractionation of biomass approach was chosen, with liquid and solid fractions of the biomass considered separately. Soxhlet extractions were used to separate different biochemical groups from the pulp, and the lignocellulosic residue was hydrothermally pretreated, enzymatically hydrolyzed, mixed with an existing agricultural feedstock, and fed to black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) for sugars-to-lipids conversion. The ASTM approved route of hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) was applied using in silico study of processing BSFL lipids to sustainable jet fuel, using SuperPro Designer and Aspen HYSYS. Simulations and techno-economic assessment showed, with the applied process routes, inputs and production rates, the biorefinery process will be profitable in 7 years, with a biomass input flow rate of over 60 ton h⁻¹ Salicornia sp. with decreasing payback time as the biomass input flow rate increases. Therefore, Salicornia sp. feedstock and sugars-to-lipids conversion method for biorefinery and liquid fuel production can function as a feasible biorefinery process with a normalized CO₂-e reduction of HEFA-SPK of 95.5% compared to similar fossil fuels.