Aviation biofuel
An aviation biofuel (also known as bio-jet fuel
Biofuels are
Aviation biofuel can be produced from plant or animal sources such as
Environmental impact
Plants absorb
Aviation fuel from wet waste-derived feedstock ("VFA-SAF") provides an additional environmental benefit. Wet waste consists of waste from landfills, sludge from wastewater treatment plants, agricultural waste, greases, and fats. Wet waste can be converted to volatile fatty acids (VFA's), which then can be catalytically upgraded to SAF. Wet waste is a low-cost and plentiful feedstock, with the potential to replace 20% of US fossil jet fuel.[15] This lessens the need to grow crops specifically for fuel, which in itself is energy intensive and increases CO2 emissions throughout its life cycle. Wet waste feedstocks for SAF divert waste from landfills. Diversion has the potential to eliminate 17% of US methane emissions across all sectors. VFA-SAF's carbon footprint is 165% lower than fossil aviation fuel.[15] This technology is in its infancy; although start-ups are working to make this a viable solution. Alder Renewables, BioVeritas, and ChainCraft are a few organizations committed to this.
NASA has determined that 50% aviation biofuel mixture can cut
History
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Lots of plans announced years ago. No info on whether the plans were carried out..(March 2024) |
The first flight using blended
In 2009, the IATA committed to achieving
In 2010, Boeing announced a target 1% of global aviation fuels by 2015.[22]
By June 2011, the revised Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons (
- Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK, 2009)
- Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK, 2011)
- usHydroprocessed Fermented Sugars to Synthetic Isoparaffins (HFS-SIP, 2014)
- Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene with Aromatics (FT-SPK/A, 2015)
- Alcohol to Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (ATJ-SPK, 2016)
- Catalytic Hydrothermolysis Synthesized Kerosene (CH-SK, or CHJ; 2020).
In December 2011, the
Biofuel provider Solena filed for bankruptcy in 2015.[29]
By 2015, cultivation of fatty acid methyl esters and alkenones from the algae, Isochrysis, was under research.[30]
By 2016, Thomas Brueck of Munich TU was forecasting that algaculture could provide 3–5% of jet fuel needs by 2050.[31]
In fall 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization announced plans for multiple measures including the development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels.[32]
Dozens of companies received hundreds of millions in venture capital from 2005 to 2012 to extract fuel oil from algae, some promising competitively-priced fuel by 2012 and production of 1 billion US gal (3.8 million m3) by 2012-2014.[33] By 2017 most companies had disappeared or changed their business plans to focus on other markets.[33]
In 2019, 0.1% of fuel was SAF:[34] The International Air Transport Association (IATA) supported the adoption of Sustainable Aviation fuel, aiming in 2019 for 2% share by 2025: 7 million m3 (1.8 billion US gal).[35][17]
By that year,
From 2020,
By 2020, International Airlines Group had invested $400 million to convert waste into sustainable aviation fuel with Velocys.[39]
In early 2021, Boeing's CEO
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act introduced the Fueling Aviation's Sustainable Transition (FAST) Grant Program. The program provides $244.5 million in grants for SAF-related "production, transportation, blending, and storage."[42] In November, 2022, sustainable aviation fuels were a topic at COP26.[43]
As of 2023, 90% of biofuel was made from oilseed and sugarcane which are grown for this purpose only.[44]
Production
"Drop-in" biofuels are biofuels that are interchangeable with conventional fuels. Deriving "drop-in" jet fuel from bio-based sources is
- HEFA-SPK
- Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosine (HEFA-SPK) is a specific type of hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel.[2] As of 2020[update] this was the only mature technology.[17][2][47] HEFA-SPK was approved by Altair Engineering for use in 2011.[48] HEFA-SPK is produced by the deoxygenation and hydroprocessing of the feedstock fatty acids of algae, jatropha, and camelina.[49]
- Bio-SPK
- This fuel uses oil extracted from plant or animal sources such as ]
- FT-SPK
- Processing solid biomass using pyrolysis can produce oil or gasification to produce a syngas that is processed into FT SPK (Fischer–Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene).[citation needed]
- ATJ-SPK
- The alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) pathway takes alcohols such as ethanol or butanol and de-oxygenates and processes them into jet fuels.[50] Companies such as LanzaTech have created ATJ-SPK from CO2 in flue gases.[51] The ethanol is produced from CO in the flue gases using microbes such as Clostridium autoethanogenum. In 2016 LanzaTech demonstrated its technology at Pilot scale in NZ – using Industrial waste gases from the steel industry as a feedstock.[52][53][54] Gevo developed technology to retrofit existing ethanol plants to produce isobutanol.[55] Alcohol-to-Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (ATJ-SPK) is a proven pathway to deliver bio-based, low-carbon fuel.[citation needed]
Future production routes
Systems that use synthetic biology to create hydro-carbons are under development:
- The SUN-to-LIQUID project is examining Fischer-Tropsch hydro-carbon fuels (solar kerosine) through the use of a solar reactor.[56][57][58]
- Alder Fuels is proposing to convert lignocellulosic biomass (a common type of waste from forestry and agriculture) into a hydrocarbon-rich "greencrude" via pyrolysis (see: pyrolysis oil). Greencrude can be turned into fuel in refineries like crude oil.[59]
Piston engines
Small piston engines can be modified to burn
Technical challenges
The United States Air Force found harmful bacteria and fungi in their biofueled aircraft, and use pasteurization to disinfect them.[65]
Economics
In 2019 the
As of 2020[update] aviation biofuel was more expensive than fossil jet kerosene,[1] considering aviation taxation and subsidies at that time.[66]
As of a 2021 analysis, VFA-SAF break-even cost was $2.50/gallon.
Sustainable aviation fuels
Sustainable fuels can be created with renewable energy without biomaterial. Carbon can be sourced from CO
2 to make kerosene, etc. Hydrogen can be combusted or used in a fuel cell.
As of 2022, some 450,000 flights had used sustainable fuels as part of the fuel mix, although such fuels were ~3x more expensive than the traditional fossil jet fuel or kerosene.[68]
Certification
A SAF sustainability certification ensures that the product satisfies criteria focused on environmental, social, and economic "
The first reputable body to launch a sustainable biofuel certification system was the European-based Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) NGO.[71] Leading airlines and other signatories to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG) pledged to support RSB as their preferred certification provider.[72][73]
Some SAF pathways procured RIN pathways under the United States's renewable fuel standard which can serve as an implicit certification if the RIN is a Q-RIN.
Criteria
This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2023) |
- EU RED II Recast (2018)
- Greenhouse gas emissions from sustainable fuels must be lower than those from the fuels they replace: at least 50% for production built prior to 5 October 2015, 60% after that date and 65% after 2021. Raw materials cannot be sourced from land with high biodiversity or high carbon stocks (i.e. primary and protected forests, biodiversity-rich grasslands, wetlands and peatlands). Other sustainability issues are set out in the Governance Regulation and may be covered on a voluntary basis.
- ICAO 'CORSIA'
- GHG Reduction - Criterion 1: lifecycle reductions of at least 10% compared to fossil fuel. Carbon Stock - Criterion 1: not produced from biomass obtained from land whose uses changed after 1 January 2008 from primeval forests, wetlands or peatlands, as all these lands have high carbon stocks. Criterion 2: For land use changesafter 1 January 2008, (using IPCC land categories), if emissions from direct land use change (DLUC) exceed the default value of the induced land use change (ILUC), the value of the DLUC replaces the default (ILUC) value.
Global impact
As
In addition to SAF certification, the integrity of aviation biofuel producers and their product could be assessed by means such as Richard Branson's Carbon War Room,[78] or the Renewable Jet Fuels initiative.[79] The latter works with companies such as LanzaTech, SG Biofuels, AltAir, Solazyme, and Sapphire.[80][verification needed]
Along with her co-authors,
Certified processes
Abbreviation | Conversion Process | Possible Feedstocks | Blending Ratio | Commercialization Proposals / Projects |
---|---|---|---|---|
HEFA-SPK | Synthesized paraffinic kerosene produced from hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids | Bio-Oils, Animal Fat, Recycled Oils | 50% | World Energy, Universal Oil Products, Neste , Dynamic Fuels, EERC
|
FT-SPK | Fischer-Tropsch hydroprocessed synthesized paraffinic kerosene | Coal, Natural Gas, Biomass | 50% | Fulcrum Bioenergy, Red Rock Biofuels, SG Preston, Shell Oil Company, Syntroleum
|
SIP-HFS | Synthesized kerosene isoparaffins produced from hydroprocessed fermented sugars | Biomass-derived sugar | 10% | Total S.A.
|
SPK/A | Synthesized kerosene with aromatics derived by alkylation of light aromatics from non-petroleum sources | Coal, Natural Gas, Biomass | 50% | Sasol |
ATJ-SPK | Alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene | Biomass-derived ethanol or isobutanol | 50% | Universal Oil Products , Lanzatech, Swedish Biofuels, Byogy
|
See also
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Further reading
- Adam Klauber (Rocky Mountain Institute); Isaac Toussie (Rocky Mountain Institute); Steve Csonka (Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative); Barbara Bramble (National Wildlife Federation) (Oct 23, 2017). "Opinion: Biofuels Sustainable, Essential To Aviation's Future". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- "Sustainable Aviation Fuel" (PDF). Gevo. December 2019.
Alcohol-to-Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene Is a Proven Pathway to Deliver a Bio-Based, Low-Carbon Option to Travelers
- McKinsey & Company (Nov 2020). Clean Skies for Tomorrow (PDF) (Report). World Economic Forum.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels as a Pathway to Net-Zero Aviation
External links
- "Sustainable Sky Institute".
non-profit think tank/do tank focussed on [...] the market transformation of the world's air transport system towards a [...] sustainable long-term future
- "Aviation industry reducing its environmental footprint". Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders. Air Transport Action Group.
- "Nordic Initiative for Sustainable Aviation". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
Nordic association working to promote and develop a more sustainable aviation industry, with a specific focus on alternative sustainable fuels
- "Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels".
The RSB is supporting the development of a sustainable bioeconomy
- "International Journal of Sustainable Aviation". Inderscience Publishers.
- "Biofuels for aviation". European Commission. 5 September 2023.
- Geoff Hunt (22 April 2021). "Why industry needs global standards for sustainable fuel use". Flightglobal.