Chemical Engineering and Processing, Vol.124, 122-130, 2018
Intensification of the hydrotreating process to produce renewable aviation fuel through reactive distillation
Aviation sector faces great challenges to guarantee its sustainable development. In order to achieve this main objective, several strategies have been proposed being the development of alternative aviation fuels one of the most promissory. The renewable aviation fuel can be generated from all type of biomasses; however, the hydroprocessing of triglyceride feedstock is one of the most mature technologies. In previous works, the hydro treating process has been modeled considering different renewable raw materials; also, the application of intensification strategies has been proposed, particularly using thermally coupled distillation columns. In this work, the intensification of the hydrotreating process through reactive distillation columns is presented; jatropha curcas oil is considered as renewable raw material. Results show that it is feasible to use this intensification strategy, which allows an increasing of the yield to biojet fuel, decreasing the operation pressure and also the environmental impact.
Keywords:Biojet fuel;Renewable aviation fuel;Hydrotreating process;Reactive distillation;Jatropha curcas oil