Integrating renewables into a modern refinery Targeted high throughput catalyst testing of a novel long-chain lipid-based feedstock, field cress oil, for accelerated process development
Kai Dannenbauer, Adrian H. Hergesell, and Ioan-Teodor Trotus hte GmbH Johanna Rindebäck and Moa Sundén VAROPreem
T he decarbonisation of transportation requires renewable routes to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Lipid-based feedstocks such as vegetable oils are attractive in this context because their triglyceride-linked long- chain fatty acids make them suitable precursors for diesel- and jet-range hydrocarbons ( van Dyk, et al., 2019 ). Finding and developing new feedstocks for renewable fuels is necessary to meet the increase in demand due to more stringent legislation. At industrial scale, the deoxygenation of vegetable oils is implemented via the hydrotreated esters and fatty acids/hydrotreated vegetable oils (HEFA/HVO) pathway, which is currently the most mature commercial route for producing renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. Across Europe, refiners are using coprocessing in revamped or new hydrotreaters alongside dedicated HEFA/HVO units to meet near-term regulatory targets. However, practical
integration of lipid-based feedstocks into refinery processing is not straightforward, as hydrogen consumption, reaction exotherms, corrosion risk, product distribution, and cold- flow properties must all be carefully managed. Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is a key upgrading step because it removes oxygen from the bio-oil and improves its fuel properties, such as viscosity and calorific value. However, it predominantly yields long-chain n-paraffins, which generally do not meet the cold-flow specifications of diesel and jet fuel. Consequently, dewaxing (DW) is commonly needed to improve low-temperature properties, while hydrocracking (HC) may be required to shift the boiling range towards the lighter fraction, particularly for heavier feedstocks ( Innocenti, et al., 2024 ). The need for DW and HC strongly depends on feedstock composition. Although triglyceride- based feedstocks share a common structural
Figure 1 Photographs of (A) a field with flowering field cress ( photographer: Johanna Österman ), (B) a close-up of seed pods of field cress ( photographer: Cecilia Hammenhög ), and (C) field cress seeds and extracted oil ( photographer: Mulatu Geleta )
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