Fuels from Fossil and Renewable Sources

Synthetic program:

Part I – fuel from fossil sources
Origin and characterization of crude oil.
Origin and formation of crude oil – Types of reservoirs and statistical data -Basics of organic chemistry (hydrocarbon classification, functional groups, O- S. compounds). Chemical and physical properties of crude oil: viscosity, specific gravity (API gravity, K-fraction, correlation index) – distillation curves (ASTM, TBP, EFV). Smoke point and char value. Sulfur and heteroatoms contents, inorganic fraction (water and salts).
Oil to fuel
Refinery flow sheet. Physical separation and chemical conversion. Topping and vacuum distillation. Hydrotreating, hydrocracking, Fluid Catalytic Cracking, Catalytic Reforming, Isomerization, Alkylation.

Part II – fuel from renewables
Classification of Biofuels (feedstocks, logistics and sustainability)

1st generation
- Bioethanol from starches and sugars (wheat, corn, sugar cane, sugar beet)
- Biodiesel from edible vegetal oils (rapeseed oil,soybean oil, palm oil)
- Biogas from wastes

2nd generation
- Biomass conversion
- Bioethanol from cellulose
- Biodiesel from non-edible oils (jatropha)

3rd generation
- Fuels from algae

From feedstock to fuels conversion routes

Thermochemical conversion routes
- Biomass and waste gasification and syngas conversion (CH3OH, DME, FT)
- Pyrolysis of biomass and upgrading of biocrude

Biochemical conversion routes
- Bioethanol from sugars: fermentation and dehydration
- Bioethanol from cellulose: Biomass pretreatment
- Biodiesel from vegetable oil: transesterification;
- Oxydehydrogenation
- Biomethane from biogas: cleaning and CO2 removal

Electrofuels
- CO2 to methanol and DME

Part III – Characterization and combustion performances of fossil and renewable fuels
(e.g., physical properties, combustion properties, energy density, emission performances, …)