Biofuel Options for Marine Applications: Technoeconomic and Life-Cycle Analyses

This study performed technoeconomic and life-cycle analyses to assess the economic feasibility and emission benefits and tradeoffs of various biofuel production pathways as an alternative to conventional marine fuels. We analyzed production pathways for (1) Fischer–Tropsch diesel from biomass and co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2021-06, Vol.55 (11), p.7561-7570
Main Authors: Tan, Eric C. D, Hawkins, Troy R, Lee, Uisung, Tao, Ling, Meyer, Pimphan A, Wang, Michael, Thompson, Tom
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
09 BIOMASS FUELS
Air pollution
Alternative fuels
bio-oil
Biodiesel fuels
Biofuels
Biomass
Carbon dioxide
Costs
Diesel
Diesel fuels
Economic analysis
Emission analysis
Emissions
Energy and Climate
Energy consumption
Esters
Fatty acids
Fischer-Tropsch (FT) diesel
Fuel oils
Fuel technology
Fuels
Gas oil
Gases
Grease
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
LCA
Life cycle analysis
Life cycle assessment
marine biofuels
Marine transportation
Natural gas
Oil
Particulate emissions
Particulate matter
Pollutants
Pollution abatement
Prices
Pyrolysis
Raw materials
renewable diesel
Shipping industry
Sulfur
Sulfur oxides
TEA
techno-economic analysis
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Summary:This study performed technoeconomic and life-cycle analyses to assess the economic feasibility and emission benefits and tradeoffs of various biofuel production pathways as an alternative to conventional marine fuels. We analyzed production pathways for (1) Fischer–Tropsch diesel from biomass and cofeeding biomass with natural gas or coal, (2) renewable diesel via hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids from yellow grease and cofeeding yellow grease with heavy oil, and (3) bio-oil via fast pyrolysis of low-ash woody feedstock. We also developed a new version of the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) marine fuel module for the estimation of life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria air pollutant (CAP) emissions of conventional and biobased marine fuels. The alternative fuels considered have a minimum fuel selling price between 2.36 and 4.58 $/heavy fuel oil gallon equivalent (HFOGE), and all exhibit improved life-cycle GHG emissions compared to heavy fuel oil (HFO), with reductions ranging from 40 to 93%. The alternative fuels also exhibit reductions in sulfur oxides and particulate matter emissions. Additionally, when compared with marine gas oil and liquified natural gas, they perform favorably across most emission categories except for cases where carbon and sulfur emissions are increased by the cofed fossil feedstocks. The pyrolysis bio-oil offers the most promising marginal CO2 abatement cost at less than $100/tonne CO2e for HFO prices >$1.09/HFOGE followed by Fischer–Tropsch diesel from biomass and natural gas pathways, which fall below $100/tonne CO2e for HFO prices >$2.25/HFOGE. Pathways that cofeed fossil feedstocks with biomass do not perform as well for marginal CO2 abatement cost, particularly at low HFO prices. This study indicates that biofuels could be a cost-effective means of reducing GHG, sulfur oxide, and particulate matter emissions from the maritime shipping industry and that cofeeding biomass with natural gas could be a practical approach to smooth a transition to biofuels by reducing alternative fuel costs while still lowering GHG emissions, although marginal CO2 abatement costs are less favorable for the fossil cofeed pathways.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.0c06141