HONEYWELL ANNOUNCES TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCING LOW-COST SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL
One of the most carbon-intensive sectors, airlines, roughly account for 2.5% of global carbon emissions. As the jet fuel burned releases carbon dioxide, which traps heat and contributes to climate change, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is being looked upon as a game-changer. However, the cost of producing SAF and production capacity has slowed its adoption. Addressing this very challenge, US-based Honeywell has announced technology that can help produce more SAF at a low cost.
“As demand for SAF continues to grow, the aviation industry is challenged by limited supplies of traditional SAF feedstock such as vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste oils,” says Ken West, president and CEO of Honeywell Energy and Sustainability Solutions. “When combined with the existing Fischer-Tropsch process, our new technology will expand the feedstock options available in the industry to sources that are more plentiful, ultimately helping improve our customers’ ability to produce SAF.”
Honeywell’s hydrocracking technology can be used to produce SAF from biomass. The company claims that the new technology can produce 3-5% more SAF, with a cost reduction of up to 20%, and reduce by-product waste streams as compared to other commonly used hydroprocessing technologies. Honeywell’s Fischer-Tropsch (FT) UnicrackingTM technology takes liquids and waxes from processed biomass, including leftovers from crops, wood waste, or food scraps, and can be used to produce SAF that complies with the strict standards of the aviation industry and has a lower environmental impact.
US-based DG Fuels, which will produce jet fuel, has already selected Honeywell’s FT Unicracking technology for its biofuels manufacturing facility in Louisiana, which will produce 13,000 barrels of SAF each day when it begins operations in 2028.
“Using Honeywell’s advanced technology, DG Fuels will supply enough fuel for more than 30,000 transatlantic flights every year, contributing significantly to reducing the carbon emissions of global air travel. This is a big leap forward in supporting the airline industry's goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions from international aviation by 2050,” says Michael Darcy, CEO of DG Fuels.
Earlier, Honeywell’s SAF production with the EcofiningTM process has been used to produce the fuel commercially since 2016. The company now offers solutions across a range of feedstocks to meet the rapidly growing demand for renewable fuels, including SAF. More than 50 sites globally have licensed Honeywell's SAF technologies, with refineries projected to exceed a combined capacity of more than 500,000 barrels of SAF per day when fully operational.
2024-04-26T14:55:01Z dg43tfdfdgfd