Food waste to SAF: A cleaner future

The aviation industry is likely to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is made possible by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US who developed a process that produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) without blending it with fossil fuels, meeting industry standards.

How did we turn food waste into an innovative sustainable fuel?

This solution tackles two major problems, mainly food waste and greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. It was led by transforming the food waste directly into biocrude oil, for which the research team used hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Then a two-fold process was adopted to achieve the SAF:

Simple impurities like moisture, ash and salt were removed. Then unwanted elements like nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur were eradicated using catalytic hydrotreating, leaving behind pure hydrocarbons.
To finally meet the industry standards of jet fuel, cobalt molybdenum was used as a catalyst to refine oil into pure hydrocarbons. Further optimisation was conducted by adjusting key variables to eventually progress the fuel to the final production stage.

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How does it meet industry standards?

The resultant fuel was tested to meet the rigorous standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It did not require any blending of fossil fuels or additive elements. Therefore, meeting the industry standards, successfully clearing both Tier Alpha and Beta prescreening tests.

Alongside, we are solving the major issue of ‘food waste’ as stated under the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. According to the SDG report, in 2022, globally 19% of food was wasted amounting to 1.05 billion tonnes. This wasted food then adds to the global greenhouse gas emissions when it decomposes in landfills and wastewater treatment plants.

Since this wasted food could be recycled on a large-scale, it could open up opportunities for fuel production. The researchers also stated that this process can be adapted to other oils to produce SAF.

Usually innovations pose a hindrance for commercial production however, this solution has the potential to serve the market as well as create replacement for petroleum-derived compounds in plastics. How drastically can this innovation change the future of sustainability in the aviation sector? Let us know in the comments below!