LAUSR

Abstract Wet algae paste, after harvested, was converted into renewable jet fuel through selective extraction and subsequent hydroconversion without further purification. A fractional extraction method based on ethanol and hexane starting from wet algae was firstly designed and investigated. The oil recovery was as high as 90 wt% of lipid after three extraction cycles. Such a method results in fractional extraction of polar lipid and neutral lipid separately from wet algal biomass. The obtained neutral lipid rich fraction has very low metal content, in which the Ca, Mg, and Cu contents are 2, 0, and 3 mg/kg, respectively. It can be converted into jet fuel range paraffin by one-step hydrocracking over Pt/Meso-ZSM-5 catalyst directly. The freeze point, flash point, and energy density of the obtained jet fuel are −57 °C, 42 °C, and 45 MJ/kg, respectively, which satisfies the ASTM 7566 standard and can be used as high quality jet fuel blend.