Experimental and techno-economic studies of upgrading heavy pyrolytic oils from wood chips into valuable fuels

Hydro-upgrading of pyrolytic oils into valuable fuels used in the industrial boilers was considered to be one of the solutions for solving industrial air pollution. In this study, a catalytic hydro-processing for converting the heavy pyrolytic oil derived from woody biomass into fuels was developed. Various temperatures, pressures, liquid hourly space velocities (LHSVs) and hydrogen-to-oil ratios were examined to obtain the optimal operating conditions. The carbon and hydrogen concentrations were increased to 86.9% and 11%, respectively, while oxygen was reduced to 1.8%, which the heating value was significantly enhanced. The optimal conditions for obtaining high degree of deoxygenation (DOD) were found at the temperature of 360 °C, the pressure of 50 bar, the LHSV of 0.25 h⁻¹ and hydrogen-to-oil ratio of 2000. The process simulation and evaluation were also conducted based on the experimental conditions and results, which resulted in the mass and energy balances as well as the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) for the final product as $1.55/L.