Supervisor:
Thomas Helmer Pedersen

Co-Supervisor:

Assessment Committee:
Poul Alberg Østergaard (Chair)

Lasse R. Clausen, DTU, Denmark, lacl@dtu.dk

Andre P.C. Faaij, TNO + University of Groningen, andre.faaij@tno.nl

 

Moderator:
Henrik Sørensen

Abstract:

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the field of sustainable biomass-based fuel production by considering the entire value-chain from the biomass feedstock to finished liquid fuel products. The use of sustainable biomass can be a cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the hard-to-abate sectors, e.g., the maritime and aviation sectors, which are the focus of this study. Since biomass is a limited resource, however, it is important to use biomass where it creates the highest value.

This research thus takes a feedstock centric-approach to enable comparison of processes and supply chains that produce vastly different products and by-products. To address the use of sustainable biomass, the first part of this work evaluates various pathways for converting biomass into liquid carbon fuels. This modelling includes detailed mass and energy balances that are based on state-of-the-art experimental and process data for power-to-X, gas-to-liquid, and direct liquefaction technologies. Throughout the thesis, the process modelling is used for conducting high-level modelling, including energy system analysis, site selection, technoeconomic assessment and life cycle analysis.