Sustainable aviation fuel from forestry residue and hydrogen – a techno-economic and environmental analysis for an immediate deployment of the PBtL process in Europe

Abstract

Sustainable aviation fuels provide the opportunity to reduce the climate impact of air transport while avoiding a complete overhaul of the existing fleet. For Europe, the domestic production of sustainable...

A sustainable aviation fuel pathway from biomass: life cycle environmental and cost evaluation for dimethylcyclooctane jet fuel

“…Reported GHG emission results for SAF production from thermochemical routes (e.g. FT synthesis and fast pyrolysis) range between −1.6 and 70 gCO 2 e MJ −1 jet fuel [28][29][30][31][32] as compared to biochemical production routes (e.g. alcohol-to-jet and sugar-tojet) of 12 to 90 gCO 2 e MJ −1 jet fuel.…”

“…46 They help estimate the effect of variations in raw materials, changes in operational conditions, process congurations or scaling and integration of early-stage technology. 47 These simulations provide the material and energy basis for LCA and technological and nancial basis for TEA to evaluate production alternatives, including for the production of bio-jet fuel blendstock produced from biochemical 35,36,[48][49][50] and thermochemical 31,32 conversion processes.…”

Inflation Reduction Act incentives increase cost-competitiveness of lower-footprint clean hydrogen-based sustainable aviation fuel

“…18,19 Pre-IRA estimated production costs of e-kerosene in the US were 5-9 times those of conventional jet fuel, with hydrogen representing about 70% of the total fuel cost. 7,20,21 At a cost of 50 USD/GJ (6.60 USD/gal), e-kerosene could increase flight ticket prices by 5% at only a 10% share of fuel. 18 Alternatively, US and European assessments of the more energy-and carbonefficient process known as Power and Biomass to Liquids (PBtL), which is recognized as the most environmentally and economically promising e-fuel production option, have found it could alleviate the limitation around sustainable biomass feedstock.…”

“…18 Alternatively, US and European assessments of the more energy-and carbonefficient process known as Power and Biomass to Liquids (PBtL), which is recognized as the most environmentally and economically promising e-fuel production option, have found it could alleviate the limitation around sustainable biomass feedstock. 20 However, PBtL production is highly dependent on the cost and emissions characteristics of electricity inputs, which can lead to higher production costs than fossil jet fuel. 19,20,21,23 Other recent studies show dramatic cost reductions for hydrogen production coming from IRA incentives, but do not address challenges related to access to renewable electricity and carbon feedstock.…”

“…20 However, PBtL production is highly dependent on the cost and emissions characteristics of electricity inputs, which can lead to higher production costs than fossil jet fuel. 19,20,21,23 Other recent studies show dramatic cost reductions for hydrogen production coming from IRA incentives, but do not address challenges related to access to renewable electricity and carbon feedstock. 16 As most production processes require a constant stream of low-cost hydrogen input, intermittent renewable resources limit potential e-fuel production and increase production costs; consequently, these studies estimate costs using either batteries or hydrogen transport, as high-quality wind and solar resources are not necessarily collocated with significant bioenergy resources.…”