Toward net-zero sustainable aviation fuel with wet waste-derived volatile fatty acids

Researchers at NRL found that this biofuel derived from food waste has a 165% decrease in net carbon emissions compared to standard fuel. The study identified that methanogenesis during anaerobic digestion can be arrested during fermentation to instead produce C2 to C8 volatile fatty acids (VFA) for catalytic upgrading to SAF. The researchers evaluated the catalytic conversion of food waste–derived VFAs to produce n-paraffin SAF for near-term use as a 10 vol% blend for ASTM “Fast Track” qualification and produce a highly branched, isoparaffin VFA-SAF to increase the renewable blend limit.