Potential of drop-in biofuel production from camel manure by hydrothermal liquefaction and biocrude upgrading: A Qatar case study

Livestock manures significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and soil contamination if not valorised or disposed of properly. Meanwhile, hydrothermal liquefaction has emerged as a promising technology for the conversion of wet wastes into value-added products. As such, this study investigates the potential of hydrothermal liquefaction of camel manure and subsequent upgrading into drop-in fuels in Qatar. Experimental characterisation of manure samples is conducted, while a small-scale plant is simulated and evaluated using Aspen Plus (R). Excess treated wastewater of Qatar is utilised as an alter-native to fresh water in the process, while power is completely generated on-site. The demonstrated results are promising; whereby, a biocrude yield of 37.9% (on dry and ash-free basis) is achieved, while the biocrude is upgraded into a high-quality bio-gasoline. The produced bio-gasoline contributes to a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to conventional gasoline. The project capital investment is estimated to be 38 M$, while the bio-gasoline's minimum selling price is at 0.87 $/kg, which is still above the market price of conventional gasoline in Qatar (similar to 0.6 $/kg). However, the conducted sensitivity analysis indicates that scaling-up the plant by 5-fold can shift the fuel's minimum selling price below the average market price. As such, it has a high potential to be locally commercialised especially at times of petroleum price hikes. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study investigates the potential of hydrothermal liquefaction of camel manure and subsequent upgrading into drop-in fuels in Qatar, showing promising commercialization prospects for this technology.