ERTC 2022
Take-off for cleaner skies starts now with SAF
Mikala Grubb TOPSOE
The transportation sector accounts for 14% of the world’s GHG emissions. This is why governments and states worldwide are taking measures to lower GHG emissions through subsidies and legislation, with 137 countries having pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by, for the most part, 2050. And with aviation responsible for 8% of the transport sector’s emissions, there is no way the industry can fly under the radar. Change is coming, and that means sustain- able aviation fuel (SAF) will be under the spotlight, with projected demand of around 15 Mt in 2030 and 200 Mt in 2050. Eventually, and as is our collective aim, both renewable jet and eJet fuels are expected to overtake fossil jet fuel. But change has been coming for some time. Indeed, as far back as 2008, air- lines have been exploring the potential of SAF. However, uptake has been slow, and by 2019 SAF accounted for just 0.1% of all fuel consumed by the aviation industry. In terms of ambition and tangible action, it has only been the last year or so in which we have started seeing real change. In 2021 airlines bought every drop of SAF available worldwide, test flights are being run partially or fully powered by SAF, and regulations reducing barriers to entry have come into effect. All of which is great news for efforts to decarbonise aviation. routes to SAF certification Aircraft flying around the world will be fuelled at different airports in different countries, making international fuel specifi- cations for SAF a necessity. It is a matter of ensuring flight safety and minimising risk of mishandling, but it is also a matter of avoiding having to implement a varied mix of fuel delivering systems at high cost. In addition, current specifica- tions ensure today’s engines and aircraft do not have to be redesigned to run on SAF, thus making the transition even more sus- tainable. At present, the focus is on SAF as a drop-in replacement to conventional jet fuel. And, with ASTM standards exclud- ing the use of pure SAF in aircraft, a 50% blend is most common, with a maximum 10% blend available in some cases. There are currently seven approved technology pathways to producing drop-in SAF (see Table 1 ). Co-processing, as seen in Table 2 , is another option for decarbon- ising aviation and meeting the criteria for the Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuels (D1655). Co-processing, which involves the simultaneous process- ing of fossil and renewable feedstocks, means you can use existing refining, trans- port, and storage facilities. This, in turn, makes it possible to convert renewable feedstocks into drop-in, ultra-low sulphur renewable jet or eJet fuel at economically competitive prices. Topsoe routes to SAF At Topsoe, we have identified the main routes we consider to be the most commer- cially advanced (see Figure 1 ). Firstly, we have HydroFlex TM , which offers full feed- stock flexibility whatever raw material you
gas, Fischer-Tropsch and hydroprocessing technologies, our G2L eFuels solution effi- ciently produces FT-SPK/eJet and green naphtha. The process integrates newly developed technologies like our fully elec- trified eREACT TM into already proven solu- tions, meaning a viable way to produce eFuels is ready. Now. Furthermore, the Fischer-Tropsch technology is provided by our strategic partner Sasol under a single- point licence. Feedstock availability can cause turbulence SAF can be produced from various renew- able feedstocks, including vegetable oils, waste oils and fats, solid biogenic waste, industrial flue gases, CO₂, renewable elec- tricity, and water. As the market for and production of SAF increases, so will the need for suitable feedstocks. There are many reasons for this, not least because other segments and industries are pursu- ing the same feedstocks for their purposes, like road transport, marine fuel, and petro- chemicals. That could become a seriously limiting factor in our journey to decarbonis- ing aviation. But what does this have to do with legis- lation? The use of feedstocks, in particular first-generation renewable feedstocks, is highly regulated in some parts of the world like the EU, with direct implications for the biofuel production required to supply man- dated volumes (see Figure 2 ). Inbound: advanced feedstocks But a third generation of feedstocks is com- ing: advanced solid waste feedstocks that can be derived from solid biomass waste, rotational crops, and recycled carbon. Processes for working with solid waste feedstocks naturally differ from those applied to first- and second-generation feedstocks – the principal divergence being solid-to-liquid conversion. And while the technologies for this conversion pro- cess are almost ready and the knowledge is there, strict aviation regulations mean these processes still need approval. Solid waste feedstocks are a much more abundant resource than previous genera- tions and will remain so for years. In all, their emergence is key to decarbonising aviation. Boundless opportunities There is no doubt that the demand for SAF will keep growing. With innovative technolo- gies and cutting-edge knowledge enabling the upgrading of advanced feedstocks, fuel production is at the centre of the global transition. Forward-thinking businesses will capture this by moving into new, advanced feedstocks while the opportunity is ripe. collaboration is KEy We can see the effort being made by refin- eries, OEMs, airlines, government bodies and more to propel us to decarbonise avia- tion. And collaboration will be the final piece in our SAF puzzle, enabling us to push for more legislation, greater feedstock availa- bility, and a Flight Plan Green.
Pathway
ASTM Annex Year of
Feedstock options
Current
approval
blending limits
Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK)
A1
2009
Coal, natural gas, biomass (syngas)
50%
Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene
A2
2011
Vegetable oils and fats, animal fat,
50%
(HEFA-SPK)
recycled oils
Hydroprocessed Fermented Sugars to Synthetic lsoparaffins (HFS-SlP)
A3
2014
Biomass used for sugar production
10%
Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene with Aromatics (FT-SPK/A) Alcohol to Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (ATJ-SPK) Catalytic Hydrothermolysis Synthesized Kerosene (CH-SK, or CHJ) Hydroprocessed Hydrocarbons, Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic
D7556 A4
2015
Coal, natural gas, biomass
50%
A5
2016
Ethanol or isobutanol
50% 50%
A6 2020 A7 2020
Triglyceride-based feedstocks
Triterpenes produced by the
10%
Paraffinic Kerosene (HHC-SPK or HC-HEFA-SPK)
Botryococcus braunii species of algae
Table 1 Approved technology pathways to producing drop-in SAF
Pathway
ASTM
Annex Year of
Feedstock options
Current
approval
blending limits
Co-processing of mono-, di-, and triglycerides, free fatty acids,
A1.2.2.1 2018
Mono-, di-, and triglycerides, free
and fatty acid esters
fatty acids, and fatty acid esters
D1655
5% (feed)
Co-processing of hydrocarbons derived from synthesis gas via Fischer-Tropsch process using iron or cobalt catalyst
A1 .2.2.2 2020
Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbons
Table 2 Co-processing options
route with G2L TM Biofuels. This commer- cially proven technology utilises Topsoe’s hydroprocessing technologies and Sasol’s LTFT TM technology to produce Fischer- Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK). We supply the core technologies and engineering, catalysts, proprietary hardware, and technical services in a sin- gle-point license – an industry first – and offer a feed-in/product-out guarantee. And then we have G2L TM eFuels, which allow you to produce eFuels from renewa- ble energy via green hydrogen and CO₂ via carbon capture. By combining synthesis
choose to work with. This technology uti- lises Topsoe’s hydroprocessing expertise to enable the processing of virgin oils, waste oils and fats, solid biomass, and plastic waste/tyres into HEFA-based SAF with min- imal Carbon Intensity (CI) compared to tra- ditional petroleum aviation fuel. HydroFlex also has a high number of running refer- ences, offers versatile process design and hardware, and comes with a comprehensive range of proprietary catalysts for renewa- ble fuel production. But if gasified waste is your source of choice, go the synthetic- and gas-based
Renewable fuels
eFuels
Waste oils and fats
Renewable electricity
Solid biomass, waste, tyres and plastic waste
H O
Virgin oils
CO
Gasi cation
Electrolysis
Pyrolysis , HTL
Carbon capture
Pretreatment
G2L™ Biofuels Syngas puri cation, Fischer-Tropsch, Hydrocracking
G2L™ eFuels eREACT™, Fischer-Tropsch, Hydrocracking
Hydro F lex™ Hydroprocessing
HEFA-SPK (>80%)
Advanced HEFA-SPK (>80%)
FT-SPK (>85%)
FT-SPK/eJet (99-100%)
Feed
Process
Process (Topsoe)
Product (GHG emissions savings)
1. From waste oils and fats 2. Not approved ASTM pathway yet
Figure 1 Topsoe routes to SAF
3rd Generation Solid biomass waste Agricultural residue
2nd Generation* Waste oils & fats (30-40 MT/y) Used cooking oils (UCO) Animal fats Distillers corn oil (DCO) Crude tall oil (CTO) Acid oils Palm oil mill e uent oil (POME oil) Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) Spent bleaching earth oil (SBEO) Empty fruit bunch oil (EFB oil)
1st Generation** Virgin oils (180MT/y) Rapeseed oil Palm oil Sun ower oil Soybean oil
>500 Mtoe/y* of 3rd generation feedstocks available globally
Sewage sludge Forestry residue Organic fraction of MSW Low ILUC/rotational crops Carinata Castor Micro or macro algae Recycled carbon Mixed plastic waste End of life tyres
3rd generation biofuels are needed to ll the gap
*WEF report 2020
**UFOP report
*WEF report 2020
Contact: mikg@topsoe.com
Figure 2 Evolution of sustainable feedstocks for advanced, third-generation biofuels
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