Accelerate SAF R&D with high- throughput catalyst testing The required ramp-up in SAF production can be achieved more easily and efficiently with the support of high-throughput catalyst testing technology
Giada Innocenti, Benjamin Mutz, Christoph Hauber, Jean-Claude Adelbrecht, Ioan-Teodor Trotus hte GmbH
R ising CO₂ emissions are a constant source of concern for both the public and government agencies due to their implications for global warming. Regulators have been setting stringent specifications to decarbonise every industrial sector, triggering a rethink of the refining and petrochemical industries. The European Green Deal has set the very ambitious target of decreasing the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The European Union has launched the ReFuelEU initiative, which progressively increases the target amount of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that must be used to ensure that the aviation sector also reaches carbon neutrality. The goal of 70% SAF by 2050 can only be achieved if a ramp-up in SAF production from different sources is pursued. The technologies for producing SAF are at different technology readiness levels depending
on the type of raw material used (syngas, used cooking oils, animal fats, alcohols, algae, and so on). It is clear that state-of-the-art tools are needed to provide the requisite momentum for the development and optimisation work required to enable a quick increase in SAF production. SAF production efficiency can be accelerated through the use of high- throughput experimentation. This technology enables the rapid collection of large datasets to develop kinetic models, test the impact of upsets, or identify the most efficient catalyst in a benchmarking study. By providing a large amount of data in a short timeframe, high- throughput technology can support the retrofit of existing facilities or the choice of either the best catalyst or the optimal operational conditions for newer dedicated production plants. The most technologically advanced routes to SAF are shown in Figure 1 and will be discussed in this article.
CO
Power-to-H
Accelerate SAF R & D with hte’s technology
rWGS
GtL / Fischer- Tropsch synthesis
Hydroprocessing
Sustainable Syngas
Fuels
Oligomerisation/ aromatisation
Dehydration
Alcohols Fats / Oils
Biomass feedstocks
Hydrodeoxygenation
Hydroprocessing
Figure 1 Main routes to producing SAF
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