Opportunities for Biorenewables in Petroleum Refineries

Biofuel production is expanding worldwide because of increasing petroleum prices; government mandates and incentives; and commitments to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. Despite this growth in biofuel production there is so far little integration of biofuels production within petroleum refineries. The segregation of biofuel production increases their cost since existing infrastructure for distribution and production of fuels is not utilized. Biofuels could more quickly alleviate a significant amount of the increasing demand for petroleum if economical opportunities for blending or co-processing them in traditional petroleum refineries could be identified and developed. Recently, a US Department of Energy funded collaboration between UOP, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory completed an evaluation of the economics of biofuels integration in petroleum refineries. The purpose of this project was to identify economically attractive opportunities for biofuels production and blending using petroleum refinery processes. Economic analyses were conducted to assess a variety of potential processes and configurations using process modeling and proof of principle experiments. The main focus of the study was the production of fuel, power, chemicals and hydrogen from two broad feedstocks: vegetable oil and pyrolysis oil. The impact of biofuels integration on refinery GHG emissions was also examined. Many promising opportunities were identified for integrating biorenewable feeds and products in existing or new refining operations