Sustainable aviation fuel from thermocatalytic conversion of forest residues

This project will involve the development of a process for thermocatalytic conversion of forest residues to a jet fuel blend rich in alkylated aromatics and cycloalkanes.

Today’s certified sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are highly paraffinic and lack aromatic content that is vital for material compatibility and lubricity characteristics of jet fuels. The single step thermocatalytic conversion will combine liquefaction and hydrodeoxygenation of the forest residues.

This is a challenging process due to a very inhomogeneous feedstock.

The efficiency will depend on the development of specialized catalyst formulations that have high hydrodeoxygenation activity, accessibility of active sites and good stability. These properties are vital to achieve high yields of liquid hydrocarbons with minimal wasteful char or gas formation.

This project is a collaboration between SCA and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers and we foresee large synergies by this joint proposal.