New publication on the impact of biogenic feedstocks on the techno-economic performance of sustainable aviation fuel production
TUM.PtX News |
Aviation is one of the sectors that is particularly difficult to decarbonize. Due to the high energy densities required and the complex infrastructure in the aviation sector, sustainable aviation fuels will play a central role in achieving future climate targets. While pure biomass-to-liquid processes are limited in terms of carbon utilization, power-and-biomass-to-liquid concepts combine biogenic residues with green hydrogen, thereby enabling high carbon utilization rates.
The study examines five different biogenic residues: straw, beech wood, pine wood, digestate, and sewage sludge. The feedstocks are first converted into synthesis gas in an entrained-flow gasifier. Hydrogen from high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis (SOEL) is then used to achieve the optimal stoichiometry for the subsequent methanol synthesis. Sustainable aviation fuels are produced from this via the methanol-to-jet process chain. The modeling is carried out in detail in Aspen Plus and includes three configurations for each feedstock, with biomass inputs of 100 MW, 200 MW, and 500 MW.
The results show that the choice of feedstock has only a minor influence on the technical key performance indicators. The investigated process configurations achieve carbon efficiencies of 89 to 91% and energy efficiencies between 50 and 53%. More pronounced effects are observed in the economic results: depending on feedstock and plant size, the calculated production costs range from 2.96 to 3.91 €/L SAF, with production costs for different biomasses at the same plant capacity differing by only up to 6%. Due to economies of scale, production costs are reduced by up to 20% when scaling up from 100 MW to 500 MW.
The availability of large quantities of biogenic residues and high plant availability are key factors determining the economic viability of future SAF plants. The results therefore provide important insights for the design of large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production plants and for the future implementation of the European ReFuelEU Aviation targets.
Link to the publication: