In the group of Techno-economic Analysis, we support the technology development with analyses regarding technical, economic and environmental aspects. By automating these analyses while at the same time keeping the transparency high, we ensure that new technologies are comparable and crucial process steps are identified and further investigated.

In the M2SAF (Methanol to Sustainable Aviation Fuels) research project, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is supporting industry in developing a process for the large-scale production of sustainable kerosene. While the focus of the project is a methanol-based approach, the route via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis enables a direct integration into existing refinery infrastructure. Based on the results of our EU-project COMSYN1 and together with M2SAF project partners, a detailed model for the upgrading of FT-products is to be set up and techno-economically assessed.

Within the scope of your master thesis, the following steps will have to be fulfilled:

• literature research on processes to upgrade hydrocarbon towards kerosene
• adaption of an existing process model in the process simulation software AspenPlus®
• technical optimization of the process using python-based software tools
• techno-economic assessment with the DLR software tool TEPET