Design and evaluation of alternative processes for the manufacturing of bio-jet fuel (BJF) intermediate

This chapter aims to demonstrate the synthesis and evaluation of alternative processes for producing bio-jet fuel (BJF) intermediate. The process comprises three steps: furfural production from biomass, furfural purification, and aldol condensation process that converts furfural and acetone into BJF intermediates. Two indices, i.e., yearly unit manufacturing cost (YUMC) and CO2 emission per unit of product (CO2-e, in kg/kg) are used as bases for comparing process economics and environmental impact of alternative processes. Results showed that alternative of current technology with suitable intersectional process integration scheme, the BJF intermediate can be produced with acceptable YUMC (=0.769 USD/kg). However, the overall process has high CO2 emission (CO2-e=1.22kg/kg). By incorporating hybrid extraction-distillation (HED) in furfural purification, the BJF intermediate could be produced with lower YUMC (=0.698 USD/kg) and CO2 emission (CO2-e=0.28kg/kg). To further reduce CO2 emission without deteriorating the economics, air-stripping technology was used for reaction in Scheme 3, which further reduce YUMC to 0.716 USD/kg and CO2-e to −1.65kg/kg.