Techno-economic assessment of transportation biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of forest residues in British Columbia

A techno-economic assessment was conducted to estimate the capital and operating costs of a hypothetic biofuel system based on hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of forest residues in British Columbia. Three scenarios were investigated to understand how supply chain designs could influence the system's economic performance. The minimum selling price (MSP) of HTL biofuels was found to be 63%-80% higher than that of petroleum fuels. Converting forest residues to bio-oil and wood pellet before being transported to the conversion facility can lower the variable operating cost but not the MSP of HTL biofuels, due to the considerable increase in capital investment. Processing parameters such as the yield of bio-oil and biofuel can significantly influence the MSP of HTL biofuels, therefore, technology advancement can make great contribution in reducing the production cost. Alternatively, a high carbon tax is needed to make the HTL biofuels competitive with petroleum fuels.