Hydroprocessed Ester and Fatty Acids to Jet: Are We Heading in the Right Direction for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production?

Mathieu Pominville-Racette, Ralph Overend, Inès Esma Achouri () and Nicolas Abatzoglou ()
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Mathieu Pominville-Racette: Department of Chemical & Biotechnological Engineering, University de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boul. de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K2R1, Canada
Ralph Overend: Nextfuels LCC, Los Altos, CA 94022, USA
Inès Esma Achouri: Department of Chemical & Biotechnological Engineering, University de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boul. de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K2R1, Canada
Nicolas Abatzoglou: Department of Chemical & Biotechnological Engineering, University de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boul. de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K2R1, Canada

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-42

Abstract: Hydrotreated ester and fatty acids to jet (HEFA-tJ) is presently the most developed and economically attractive pathway to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). An ongoing systematic study of the critical variables of different pathways to SAF has revealed significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential for the HEFA-tJ pathway compared to competing markets using the same resources for road diesel production. Moderate yield variations between air and road pathways lead to several hundred thousand tons less GHG reduction per project, which is generally not evaluated thoroughly in standard environmental assessments. This work demonstrates that, although the HEFA-tJ market seems to have more attractive features than biodiesel/renewable diesel, considerable viability risks might manifest as HEFA-tJ fuel market integration rises. The need for more transparent data and effort in this regard, before envisaging making decisions regarding the volume of HEFA-tJ production, is emphasized. Overall, reducing the carbon intensity of road diesel appears to be less capital-intensive, less risky, and several times more efficient in reducing GHG emissions.

Keywords: sustainable aviation fuels; technical and economic analysis; sustainability evaluation methodology; CORSIA; palm oil; biofuels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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