Benchmarking, insights, and potential for improvement of Fischer–Tropsch-based biomass-to-liquid technology

Biomass is one of the renewable energy sources which can play an important role in reducing dependency on crude oil specifically transportation fuels while maintaining the current infrastructure. This study investigates the potential that biomass could offer in supporting the production of ultra-clean liquid transportation fuels via biomass gasification and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Various biomass-to-liquid (BTL) processes may be developed; however, prior to the detailed analysis, it is important to understand the overarching insights of the system and to determine performance benchmarks. The major focus of this study is to develop a process-integration approach to determine the “big-picture” targets and to evaluate the role of certain variables (e.g., biomass source, composition, and processing) on potential liquid fuel yield. This assessment takes into consideration the major challenges facing BTL technology, and identifies areas for potential improvement. Several routes are synthesized and compared.