World’s first commercial scale ethanol-to-SAF production begins  

LanzaJet has commenced production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) via a proprietary alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) process at its Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia, US. The achievement marks a ‘world first’ demonstration that ethanol can be converted into SAF at commercial scale, says the company.

Its ATJ process converts ethanol into synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK), which can be blended with existing aviation kerosene specifications (including Jet A and Jet A-1) and used in existing aircraft and airport infrastructure without modification. Importantly, unlike the HEFA (hydrogenated esters and fatty acids) process that has been the most common pathway to SAF production to date, LanzaJet says its ATJ route relies on no form of vegetable oil or waste oil, creating an entirely new feedstock stream for net zero aviation ambitions. (Click here to find more about the various pathways to producing SAF.) According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), SAF has the potential to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel.

LanzaJet’s ATJ technology draws on long-established refining principles. In the multi-step process, ethanol first undergoes catalytic dehydration to form ethylene, which is then oligomerised into larger iso-olefins. These molecules are hydrogenated into iso-paraffins, producing stable hydrocarbon chains suitable for high-performance aviation use. A final fractionation step separates these hydrocarbons into SAF (SPK) and synthetic paraffinic diesel (SPD), also known as renewable diesel – a co-product that provides additional market flexibility, explains the company.

An advantage of ATJ is its operational flexibility, notes LanzaJet. Depending on market needs, the product slate can be varied: in a maximum-jet configuration, around 90% of output is SAF and 10% renewable diesel by weight; in maximum-diesel mode, up to 75% can be renewable diesel. Adjustments within this range can be made with only modest changes to plant operating conditions, and without requiring shutdowns. The total hydrocarbon output remains essentially constant, enabling the facility to optimise production for pricing, policy incentives or airline demand, says the company.

Feedstock versatility is reported to be another key differentiator. The ATJ process can handle ethanol from a broad range of sources, including first-generation feedstocks such as sugarcane and maize – used at the Freedom Pines site – as well as agricultural residues, energy crops, municipal solid waste and even captured carbon converted into ethanol.  

LanzaJet highlights the scale of the opportunity. The US currently produces about 17bn gallons (64.4 bn litres) of ethanol annually. If channelled into ATJ production, this would yield roughly 11bn gallons of SAF – more than half of US aviation’s annual jet fuel consumption of 20bn gallons, it says. Globally, with ethanol output around 30bn g/y, ATJ could supply approximately 20bn gallons of SAF, or nearly 20% of the world’s jet fuel demand, suggests the company. Although illustrative, these figures underscore how ethanol could form the backbone of aviation decarbonisation strategies, says LanzaJet.

Plans for Abu Dhabi’s first commercial-scale waste-to-SAF project

Meanwhile, Middle East renewable energy developer Masdar and waste company Tadweer Group have signed an agreement to develop Abu Dhabi’s first commercial-scale waste-to-SAF project.  

The proposed plant will covert around 500,000 t/y of biomass and urban solid waste into SAF. It will use a hybrid production pathway. Renewable energy-powered electrolysis will produce green hydrogen; waste gasification will turn syngas into SAF.

Furthermore, Masdar reports that the project represents ‘a key step toward delivering on several strategic national priorities’, including the UAE General Policy for SAF, which aims to establish the country as a regional SAF hub with two main goals: to produce 700mn l/y of SAF by 2030 and to meet a voluntary target of 1% SAF in fuel supplied to national airlines by 2031.  

Breaking ground on South Korea’s first HVO/SAF plant

In the Far East, a joint venture of South Korean chemicals company LG Chem and Italian energy company Eni’s sustainable mobility division, Enilive, have broken ground on what will be South Korea’s first hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and SAF production plant. Located at LG Chem’s Daesan chemical complex in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do, 80 km south-west of Seoul, the plant is scheduled for completion in 2027. It will process some 400,000 t/y of renewable bio-feedstock.

HVO and SAF will be made by hydrogenating sustainable vegetable oils such as used cooking oil (UCO) and other waste and residues through ‘ecofining’, a technology developed by Eni in collaboration with Honeywell UOP. Demand for both HVO and SAF is expected to surge, driven by renewable fuel mandates, according to Enilive.

Together with plants that are already operational in Italy and in the US, and with new biorefining plants under construction in Italy and Malaysia, the Daesan facility will enable Enilive to increase its biorefining capacity to over 5mn t/y by 2030, with the potential to produce more than 2mn t/y of SAF, according to Stefano Ballista, Enilive’s Chief Executive Officer.

Daesan chemical complex in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea

Photo: LG Chem