Upgraded Pyrolysis Bio-oil as Alternative Renewable Supply in Classical Petroleum Refinery Processes

The production of renewable liquid fuels for transport has attracted international research and market
interest in line with the ambitious 2020 and 2030 energy and climate targets set by the European Union (EU)
policy, considering the increasing global demand for their fossil counterparts and the resulting environmental
impact. Toward this direction, the utilization of non-food/feed biomass is promoted, while the most
promising bio-chemical and thermo-chemical value chains for biofuels production have been prioritized by
the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI), launched under the Strategic Energy Technology (SET)
Plan, listing pyrolysis among them.
In this frame, the study investigates refinery-compatible entry points to directly co-feed bio-based refinery
intermediates and further co-process them in existing petroleum crude oil refineries. The studied pyrolysis
bio-oil has been produced via ablative fast pyrolysis and upgraded via mild hydrotreatment (HDT) in order to
fulfill refineries’ specifications and become a “drop-in” biofuel in compatible refinery “location”. The
properties of HDT-Bio-oil as well as fossil-based refinery intermediates were compared, and five fossil-based
refinery intermediates have been concluded as potential candidates for co-processing. The analysis was
based on mapping several petroleum fractions’ quality properties (i.e., boiling curve, gravity/density, overall
elemental composition, viscosity, surface tension) within a conventional refinery. Based on the comparative
assessment, the following refinery streams have been identified as potential candidates for co-processing
with HDT-Bio-oil: Straight Run Distillate Diesel (SRGO), Atmospheric Gasoil (GASOIL), Light cycle oil (FCC LCO),
Heavy cycle oil (FCC HCO) and Light vacuum gas oil (LVGO). Furthermore, the miscibility of the
aforementioned renewable and conventional fuel intermediates has been investigated via light microscopy.
In particular, the five mixtures of bio-oil/refinery intermediates were observed under Nikon ECLIPSE TE2000-
S optical microscope. Among all refinery streams, Fluid Catalytic Cracking Light Cycle Oil (FCC LCO) and
secondly Light Vacuum Gas Oil (LVGO) have been concluded to be the most promising candidates for coprocessing,
resembling HDT-Bio-oil’s properties. The study is part of the “BioMates” Horizon2020 research
and innovation EU project, aspiring in combining innovative 2^nd generation biomass conversion technologies
for the cost-effective production of reliable bio-based intermediates that can be further upgraded in existing
oil refineries as renewable and reliable co-feedstocks. Therefore, the current miscibility study acts as a prescreening
of candidate feedstocks for the targeted hydroprocessing study that will follow.