Diesel Bio-Based Blendstock

Detailed information about diesel bio-based blendstocks is presented next.

Emissions estimates use the Argonne National Laboratory's Research & Development Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (R&D GREET) model (Wang et al., 2023). The underlying source for a value in the table can be seen by placing your mouse cursor over that value. The data sources are also cited—with linked references—in the Key Assumptions section next.

Note: These results are highly context dependent and may not represent the optimal values for each fuel pathway. We recommend caution, and review of other sources, before making comparisons between the cases reported in the table above.

Key Assumptions

The data and estimates presented here are based on the following key assumptions:

• Fuel Price: The fuel price (e.g., Lowest Cost, Lowest Emissions) is associated with a single year. Because we do not provide a time-series trajectory, here we show fuel price at a frozen level for all years so we can offer a range of fuel price values. In the levelized cost of driving (LCOD) and emissions charts, this approach clearly distinguishes effects of fuels from those of vehicle technologies because fuels remain constant whereas vehicle technologies change over time.
• Fuel Price References: The fuel price for the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway is based on Tao et al. (Tao et al., 2017), Fischer Tropsch (FT) on Tan et al. (Tan et al., 2021), fast pyrolysis (FP) on Dutta et al. (Dutta et al., 2021), hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) on Zhu et al. (Zhu et al., 2020), and Combined Algal Processing (CAP) on (Wang et al., 2023). The use of algae as a feedstock is described in (Atnoorkar et al., 2024) and a preliminary, unoptimized price estimate is included in the supplemental data.
• Biodiesel Fuel Price: The fuel price for biodiesel is based on the Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report (DOE, 2023). 
• Plant characteristics are based on the process designs of (Apostolakou et al., 2009), (Tan et al., 2021), (Davis et al., 2018), (Dutta et al., 2021), (Dutta et al., 2023), (Tao et al., 2017), (Atnoorkar et al., 2024), (Zhu et al., 2020), and (Jones et al., 2014), with updated costs.
• Emissions Estimates: The emissions are based on R&D GREET 2023 (Wang et al., 2023) and (Dutta et al., 2021), (Xie et al., 2011), and (Xu et al., 2022).

The data downloads include additional details of assumptions and calculations for each metric.

To see additional information, place your mouse cursor over a value in the table. 

Definitions

For detailed definitions, see:

CO2e

NOx

SOx

PM

Fuel price

Renewable diesel

Scenarios

Well-to-tank emissions

Well-to-wheels emissions

References

The following references are specific to this page; for all references in this ATB, see References.