EP-4741475-A1 - METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING AVIATION FUEL

EP4741475A1EP 4741475 A1EP4741475 A1EP 4741475A1EP-4741475-A1

Abstract

Proposed is a method for manufacturing aviation fuel, the method including the steps of preparing a feed, preparing an FT syncrude by subjecting the feed to a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction, wherein the FT syncrude includes a first fraction and a kerosene fraction, the first fraction being a fraction with a boiling point range below that of kerosene, subjecting the first fraction to a reaction for increasing the boiling point, wherein the first fraction is converted to the second fraction, and the second fraction has a higher boiling point than the first fraction, and collecting aviation fuel from the kerosene fraction and the second fraction.

Inventors

LEE, SEUNG WOO
JANG, DONG SEOK
CHO, SEUNG HYUN
LEE, CHANG Q
LEE, HO JEONG
LIM, YUN JI
KIM, SUN YOUNG
KIM, EUN KYOUNG
KIM, YUN HWA
PARK, Ki Heum
LEE, HYE SOO

Assignees

SK Innovation Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20251031

Claims (15)

A method for manufacturing aviation fuel, the method comprising: preparing a feed; preparing an FT syncrude by subjecting the feed to a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction, wherein the FT syncrude comprises a first fraction and a kerosene fraction, the first fraction being a fraction with a boiling point range below that of kerosene; subjecting the first fraction to a reaction for increasing the boiling point, wherein the first fraction is converted to the second fraction, and the second fraction has a higher boiling point than the first fraction; and collecting aviation fuel from the kerosene fraction and the second fraction.
The method of claim 1, wherein the total content of the first fraction and the kerosene fraction in the FT syncrude is equal to or greater than 85 wt%.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the feed is a syngas.
The method of claim 3, wherein the syngas is derived from waste products, biomass, animal fats, vegetable oils, waste cooking oil, or a combination thereof, or contains CO derived from captured carbon dioxide and green hydrogen.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the FT reaction is performed in the presence of a catalyst at a temperature of 180°C to 400°C, a pressure of 10 to 100 bar, and an H 2 /CO molar ratio of 1 to 10.
The method of claim 5, wherein the catalyst comprises Co, Fe, Ni, Ru, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the catalyst further comprises, as a promoter, Y, Ce, La, W, Mo, or a combination thereof.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first fraction is a naphtha fraction.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein an olefin content in the first fraction is equal to or greater than 40 wt%.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reaction for increasing the boiling point of the first fraction is performed in the presence of a catalyst, at a temperature of 100°C to 300°C, a pressure of 1 to 100 bar, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of 0.01 to 2.0 h -1 .
The method of claim 10, wherein the catalyst is an acid catalyst.
The method of claim 11, wherein the acid catalyst comprises a solid acid catalyst, a liquid acid catalyst, or a combination thereof, and wherein the solid acid catalyst comprises zeolite, clay, solid phosphate, ion exchange resin, amorphous silica-alumina, mesoporous alumina, mesoporous silicate, or a combination thereof, and the liquid acid catalyst comprises sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, ionic liquid, or a combination thereof.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: producing a hydroprocessing reaction product by subjecting at least a portion of the second fraction, at least a portion of the kerosene fraction, or a combination thereof, to a hydroprocessing reaction, wherein the collecting aviation fuel comprises collecting aviation fuel from the hydroprocessing reaction product.
The method of claim 13, wherein the hydroprocessing reaction comprises at least one of a hydroisomerization reaction and a hydrocracking reaction.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the FT syncrude further comprises a diesel+ fraction, and wherein the method further comprises subjecting at least a portion of the diesel+ fraction to a hydroprocessing reaction.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing aviation fuel. Description of the Related Art Synthetic fuel (or synfuel) is generally defined as a hydrocarbon produced via a series of chemical reactions from synthesis gas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen used for fuel synthesis, and is distinguished from fuel obtained by distillation of crude oil. Among the catalytic reactions that synthesize liquid hydrocarbons from synthesis gas, the most representative example is the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction. Aviation fuel refers to the fuel used in aircraft engines. Aviation fuel is compositionally similar to kerosene, and is generally produced by blending kerosene fractions with various additives. Specifically, aviation fuel is produced by processing low volatility kerosene. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refers to aviation fuel that is made from sustainable and renewable feedstocks. These materials may be bio-derived, such as seaweed, plants, animals, and edible oils, or synthesized using carbon dioxide in the air, hydrogen derived from water, etc. SAF can be used as a replacement for conventional aviation fuels in existing aircraft without requiring any modifications to the aircraft. SAF offers the advantage of reducing carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional ones made from fossil resources such as petroleum and coal. SAF has attracted attention not only in terms of the depletion of existing fossil resources and rising crude oil prices, but also the perspective of mitigating global warming and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0108568 discloses a method for the production of jet fuel from synthetic crude produced by a Fischer-Tropsch process. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for manufacturing aviation fuel, the method being capable of increasing the yield of aviation fuel production. The method of the present disclosure can also be applied to the production technology for SAF, and thus can also contribute to mitigation of global warming through reduction of carbon emissions. One aspect of the present disclosure is a method for manufacturing aviation fuel, the method including: preparing a feed; preparing an FT syncrude by subjecting the feed to a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction, wherein the FT syncrude includes a first fraction and a kerosene fraction, the first fraction being a fraction with a boiling point range below that of kerosene; subjecting the first fraction to a reaction for increasing the boiling point, wherein the first fraction is converted to the second fraction, and the second fraction has a higher boiling point than the first fraction; and collecting aviation fuel from the kerosene fraction and the second fraction. In one embodiment, the total content of the first fraction and the kerosene fraction in the FT syncrude is equal to or greater than 80 wt%, preferably equal to or greater than 85 wt%. In one embodiment, the feed may be a syngas. In one embodiment, the syngas may be derived from waste products, biomass, animal fats, vegetable oils, waste cooking oil, or a combination thereof, or may contain CO derived from captured carbon dioxide and green hydrogen. In one embodiment, the FT reaction may be performed in the presence of a catalyst at a temperature of 180°C to 400°C, a pressure of 10 to 100 bar, and an H2/CO molar ratio of 1 to 10. In one embodiment, the catalyst may include Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the catalyst may further include, as a promoter, Y, Ce, La, W, Mo, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the first fraction may be a naphtha fraction. In one embodiment, wherein an olefin content in the first fraction is equal to or greater than 40 wt%. In one embodiment, the reaction for increasing the boiling point of the first fraction may be performed in the presence of a catalyst, at a temperature of 100°C to 300°C, a pressure of 1 to 100 bar, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of 0.01 to 2.0 h-1. In one embodiment, the catalyst may be an acid catalyst. In one embodiment, the acid catalyst may include a solid acid catalyst, a liquid acid catalyst, or a combination thereof, and wherein the solid acid catalyst may include zeolite, clay, solid phosphate, ion exchange resin, amorphous silica-alumina, mesoporous alumina, mesoporous silicate, or a combination thereof, and the liquid acid catalyst may include sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, ionic liquid, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the method may further include: producing a hydroprocessing reaction product by subjecting at least a portion of the second fraction, at least a portion of the kerosene fraction, or a combination thereof, to a hydroprocessing reaction, wherein the collecting aviation fuel may include collecting aviation fuel from the hydroprocessing reactio