Exploring the environmental and economic benefits of hybrid natural gas and biomass conversion to liquid fuels

Liquid fuels as the primary global energy source will experience a demand peak in the near future. FischerTropsch technology provides liquid fuels to fulfill part of this demand from a variety of carbon-rich materials. Biomass is a renewable source of carbon that complements conventional liquid fuels. The low efficiency of Biomass to Liquid (BtL) processes which roots to a deficiency of hydrogen in produced syngas makes this process less competitive. This work investigates the enhancement of the BtL process by the integration of rich hydrogen syngas from the Gas to Liquid (GtL) process. The rigorous techno-economic analysis demonstrates that the optimal mass blending ratio between the two feedstocks, biomass and natural gas, is 4.27 in the integrated process of natural gas-biomass to liquid fuels (GBtL). The life cycle assessment of the hybrid system highlights the impact of biomass feed on global warming by considering the biogenic carbon in the feedstock. The analysis reveals that a 30% alteration in biomass feedstock leads to approximately 30% variation in the global warming emission impact of the hybrid plant. Utilizing the different types of biomass feedstock is also evaluated and compared as a potential solution for the difficulties in the supply chain and defining the best type of biomass for the feedstock.