Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study

Eliana Maria Lozano Sanchez; S. Løkke; L. A. Rosendahl; T. H. Pedersen

doi:10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100178

Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study

Eliana Maria Lozano Sanchez^*, S. Løkke, L. A. Rosendahl, T. H. Pedersen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and GHG emissions of advanced biofuels production through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of sewage sludge in The Netherlands targeting the marine fuels market. The process evaluated consists of a distributed configuration of regional HTL plants co-located with wastewater treatment plants, with centralized hydrotreating co-located with an existing refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. The process is simulated in ASPEN + based on published experimental data and the mass and energy balances are used as input for techno-economic and environmental evaluation. Lifecycle GHG emissions of the HTL and hydrotreating processes are estimated using consequential modelling principles and background data from the Ecoinvent database and compared with the business-as-usual scenario of sludge mono-incineration and fossil marine fuels production. The results indicate that the HTL + hydrotreating configuration has potential to deliver on-spec marine biofuels at a minimum fuel selling price between 410 and 1300 EUR/t, being at least 3 times more beneficial compared to the business-as-usual scenario from a GHG emissions perspective. Future work is recommended to optimize the size and location of the HTL plants in order to decrease capital costs and to address uncertainties regarding the sludge gate fee and the costs associated with the aqueous and solid by-products treatment. The results indicate the potential of such configuration in locations with relatively high population density and good transport infrastructure. This can be the case of port areas around the North Sea with access to offshore renewable electricity for hydrogen production, where drop-in marine biofuels are expected to play a role with the increasing share of renewables in the marine fuels mix.

Original language	English
Article number	100178
Journal	Energy Conversion and Management: X
Volume	14
Number of pages	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100178
Publication status	Published - May 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant no. 765515 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN, ENSYSTRA), grant agreement no. 764734 (HyflexFuels), grant agreement no. 818413 (NextGenRoadFuels) and from Innovation Fund Denmark under grant no. 8087-00028B (Watervalue project). The authors would like to thank the Innovation team at Goodfuels in The Netherlands for their inputs in the first stages of the research; and Dr. Daniele Castello and Dr. Salman Heider for their contribution with data used in the manuscript.

Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant no. 765515 (Marie Sk?odowska-Curie ITN, ENSYSTRA), grant agreement no. 764734 (HyflexFuels), grant agreement no. 818413 (NextGenRoadFuels) and from Innovation Fund Denmark under grant no. 8087-00028B (Watervalue project). The authors would like to thank the Innovation team at Goodfuels in The Netherlands for their inputs in the first stages of the research; and Dr. Daniele Castello and Dr. Salman Heider for their contribution with data used in the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Keywords

Distributed supply chain
Hydrothermal liquefaction
Integration
LCA
Sewage sludge
Techno-economic analysis

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Cite this

@article{4da081ebe196485184816b4bdaaba843,

title = "Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study",

abstract = "The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and GHG emissions of advanced biofuels production through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of sewage sludge in The Netherlands targeting the marine fuels market. The process evaluated consists of a distributed configuration of regional HTL plants co-located with wastewater treatment plants, with centralized hydrotreating co-located with an existing refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. The process is simulated in ASPEN + based on published experimental data and the mass and energy balances are used as input for techno-economic and environmental evaluation. Lifecycle GHG emissions of the HTL and hydrotreating processes are estimated using consequential modelling principles and background data from the Ecoinvent database and compared with the business-as-usual scenario of sludge mono-incineration and fossil marine fuels production. The results indicate that the HTL + hydrotreating configuration has potential to deliver on-spec marine biofuels at a minimum fuel selling price between 410 and 1300 EUR/t, being at least 3 times more beneficial compared to the business-as-usual scenario from a GHG emissions perspective. Future work is recommended to optimize the size and location of the HTL plants in order to decrease capital costs and to address uncertainties regarding the sludge gate fee and the costs associated with the aqueous and solid by-products treatment. The results indicate the potential of such configuration in locations with relatively high population density and good transport infrastructure. This can be the case of port areas around the North Sea with access to offshore renewable electricity for hydrogen production, where drop-in marine biofuels are expected to play a role with the increasing share of renewables in the marine fuels mix.",

keywords = "Distributed supply chain, Hydrothermal liquefaction, Integration, LCA, Sewage sludge, Techno-economic analysis",

author = "Sanchez, {Eliana Maria Lozano} and S. L{\o}kke and Rosendahl, {L. A.} and Pedersen, {T. H.}",

note = "Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant no. 765515 (Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie ITN, ENSYSTRA), grant agreement no. 764734 (HyflexFuels), grant agreement no. 818413 (NextGenRoadFuels) and from Innovation Fund Denmark under grant no. 8087-00028B (Watervalue project). The authors would like to thank the Innovation team at Goodfuels in The Netherlands for their inputs in the first stages of the research; and Dr. Daniele Castello and Dr. Salman Heider for their contribution with data used in the manuscript. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant no. 765515 (Marie Sk?odowska-Curie ITN, ENSYSTRA), grant agreement no. 764734 (HyflexFuels), grant agreement no. 818413 (NextGenRoadFuels) and from Innovation Fund Denmark under grant no. 8087-00028B (Watervalue project). The authors would like to thank the Innovation team at Goodfuels in The Netherlands for their inputs in the first stages of the research; and Dr. Daniele Castello and Dr. Salman Heider for their contribution with data used in the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",

year = "2022",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100178",

language = "English",

volume = "14",

journal = "Energy Conversion and Management: X",

issn = "2590-1745",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study. / Sanchez, Eliana Maria Lozano ; Løkke, S.; Rosendahl, L. A. et al.
In: Energy Conversion and Management: X, Vol. 14, 100178, 05.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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T1 - Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study

AU - Sanchez, Eliana Maria Lozano

AU - Løkke, S.

AU - Rosendahl, L. A.

AU - Pedersen, T. H.

N1 - Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant no. 765515 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN, ENSYSTRA), grant agreement no. 764734 (HyflexFuels), grant agreement no. 818413 (NextGenRoadFuels) and from Innovation Fund Denmark under grant no. 8087-00028B (Watervalue project). The authors would like to thank the Innovation team at Goodfuels in The Netherlands for their inputs in the first stages of the research; and Dr. Daniele Castello and Dr. Salman Heider for their contribution with data used in the manuscript. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant no. 765515 (Marie Sk?odowska-Curie ITN, ENSYSTRA), grant agreement no. 764734 (HyflexFuels), grant agreement no. 818413 (NextGenRoadFuels) and from Innovation Fund Denmark under grant no. 8087-00028B (Watervalue project). The authors would like to thank the Innovation team at Goodfuels in The Netherlands for their inputs in the first stages of the research; and Dr. Daniele Castello and Dr. Salman Heider for their contribution with data used in the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

PY - 2022/5

Y1 - 2022/5

N2 - The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and GHG emissions of advanced biofuels production through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of sewage sludge in The Netherlands targeting the marine fuels market. The process evaluated consists of a distributed configuration of regional HTL plants co-located with wastewater treatment plants, with centralized hydrotreating co-located with an existing refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. The process is simulated in ASPEN + based on published experimental data and the mass and energy balances are used as input for techno-economic and environmental evaluation. Lifecycle GHG emissions of the HTL and hydrotreating processes are estimated using consequential modelling principles and background data from the Ecoinvent database and compared with the business-as-usual scenario of sludge mono-incineration and fossil marine fuels production. The results indicate that the HTL + hydrotreating configuration has potential to deliver on-spec marine biofuels at a minimum fuel selling price between 410 and 1300 EUR/t, being at least 3 times more beneficial compared to the business-as-usual scenario from a GHG emissions perspective. Future work is recommended to optimize the size and location of the HTL plants in order to decrease capital costs and to address uncertainties regarding the sludge gate fee and the costs associated with the aqueous and solid by-products treatment. The results indicate the potential of such configuration in locations with relatively high population density and good transport infrastructure. This can be the case of port areas around the North Sea with access to offshore renewable electricity for hydrogen production, where drop-in marine biofuels are expected to play a role with the increasing share of renewables in the marine fuels mix.

AB - The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and GHG emissions of advanced biofuels production through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of sewage sludge in The Netherlands targeting the marine fuels market. The process evaluated consists of a distributed configuration of regional HTL plants co-located with wastewater treatment plants, with centralized hydrotreating co-located with an existing refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. The process is simulated in ASPEN + based on published experimental data and the mass and energy balances are used as input for techno-economic and environmental evaluation. Lifecycle GHG emissions of the HTL and hydrotreating processes are estimated using consequential modelling principles and background data from the Ecoinvent database and compared with the business-as-usual scenario of sludge mono-incineration and fossil marine fuels production. The results indicate that the HTL + hydrotreating configuration has potential to deliver on-spec marine biofuels at a minimum fuel selling price between 410 and 1300 EUR/t, being at least 3 times more beneficial compared to the business-as-usual scenario from a GHG emissions perspective. Future work is recommended to optimize the size and location of the HTL plants in order to decrease capital costs and to address uncertainties regarding the sludge gate fee and the costs associated with the aqueous and solid by-products treatment. The results indicate the potential of such configuration in locations with relatively high population density and good transport infrastructure. This can be the case of port areas around the North Sea with access to offshore renewable electricity for hydrogen production, where drop-in marine biofuels are expected to play a role with the increasing share of renewables in the marine fuels mix.

KW - Distributed supply chain

KW - Hydrothermal liquefaction

KW - Integration

KW - LCA

KW - Sewage sludge

KW - Techno-economic analysis

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U2 - 10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100178

DO - 10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100178

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85123077286

SN - 2590-1745

VL - 14

JO - Energy Conversion and Management: X

JF - Energy Conversion and Management: X

M1 - 100178

ER -

Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study

Abstract

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Keywords

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