Chapter 10: BTL-FT to Transportation Fuels

Conventional petroleum-based refining of fuel for the transport industry faces the challenges of a large amount of CO₂ emission and limited reserves. There is an urgent need for greener and more sustainable production, and biomass is a promising renewable carbon-based feedstock to replace conventional petroleum. Fischer–Tropsch synthesis offers a feasible method to convert biomass into a wide range of hydrocarbons, which can be further refined into fuels used in transportation vehicles, including motor-gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The detailed specifications of the transportation fuels are detailed in this chapter to provide a better understanding of the refining requirements. The corresponding refinery flow sheets are also provided. It can be concluded that the refinery design used involves trade-off to balance a number of factors.