DESIGN OF A BIOREFINERY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE AVIATION FUEL FROM MICROALGAE

Abstract

Renewable aviation fuel is one of the most promising alternatives for the sustainable economic recovery of the aviation sector. One of the main challenges in the production of biojet fuel is that, although it is technically feasible, it is not yet an economical competitive against its fossil counterpart. In this context, processing in a biorefinery scheme is attractive. In such system, a biomass is comprehensively converted for the production of biofuels, as well as high value-added products. On the other hand, microalgae are a promising biomass for biofuel production due to their fast growth and high lipidic content. Therefore, in the present work, a biorefinery was designed to obtain renewable aviation fuel and value-added products from microalgae biomass. The results show that it is possible to produce biojet fuel, proteins, minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates that can be converted into bioethanol.