From food waste to sustainable aviation fuel: cobalt molybdenum catalysis of pretreated hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude

Sabrina Summers, Siyu Yang, Buchun Si, Zixin Wang, Jamison Watson, Siying Yu, Zhibin Yang, Harshal Kawale, Joshua S. Heyne and Yuanhui Zhang ()
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Sabrina Summers: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Siyu Yang: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Buchun Si: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Zixin Wang: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jamison Watson: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Siying Yu: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Zhibin Yang: Washington State University
Harshal Kawale: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Joshua S. Heyne: Washington State University
Yuanhui Zhang: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Valorization of wet biowaste into sustainable aviation fuel presents a promising opportunity to decarbonize the aviation industry. While hydrothermal liquefaction of food waste produces high energy content biocrude oil, its complex composition introduces challenges for achieving drop-in fuel properties. This research demonstrates a pathway from food waste-derived biocrude to sustainable aviation fuel through single-stage hydrotreating using cobalt molybdenum catalyst. Hydrotreating parameters are screened via the Taguchi method and optimized via Response Surface Methodology. The fuel candidate meets American Society for Testing and Materials jet fuel properties without blending, including low sulfur limits, density, viscosity, flash point, and freeze point. Further, Circularity Index, the fraction of renewable and recovered resources, demonstrates that compared to conventional jet fuel, this pathway improves energy and carbon circularity by 31.1% and 17.0%, respectively. Additionally, this approach identifies future direction, including reaction and catalyst tuning for increased isomerization, to improve fuel properties.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64645-y

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