# Opportunity Assessment for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production from Woody Biomass via Ex Situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis and Refinery Hydroprocessing

## TL;DR

This study assesses the potential of catalytic fast pyrolysis to produce sustainable aviation fuel from woody biomass in the U.S.

## Contribution

It integrates biomass resource data with experimental results to evaluate the CFP pathway's future role in meeting U.S. SAF goals.

## Key findings

- The CFP pathway could produce up to 4.6 billion gallons of SAF annually by 2040.
- Colocating CFP with refineries and repurposing hydrocracking capacity may improve cost and viability.
- This approach could reduce the U.S. jet fuel carbon intensity by 16%.

## Abstract

Biofuels have become a promising solution to reduce emissions
in
hard-to-electrify transportation sectors, such as aviation. However,
several biofuel conversion pathways will likely be needed to scale
sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production to meet lower carbon intensity
goals when biomass feedstock availability constraints are considered.
This study evaluates the future potential of the catalytic fast pyrolysis
(CFP) pathway to contribute to U.S. SAF production goals as outlined
in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SAF Grand Challenge,
understanding that the CFP pathway is still under development toward
maturity and scaleup. National forestland resource data from the DOE’s
2023 Billion Ton Study are integrated with recent experimental results
demonstrating end-to-end woody biomass conversion to SAF via CFP and
hydroprocessing in a novel bioeconomy optimization framework. U.S.
refinery hydroprocessing capacity is also considered with repurposing
and coprocessing strategies. Results indicate that the CFP process
can contribute up to 4.6 billion gallons of SAF annually by 2040,
meeting 13% of the 2050 SAF Grand Challenge target while reducing
the carbon intensity (CI) of the U.S. jet fuel pool by 16%. The study
further explores optimal processing strategies, suggesting that colocating
CFP operations with existing petroleum refineries and repurposing
some U.S. hydrocracking capacity may offer significant cost advantages
and enhance the commercial viability of the CFP pathway. These results
underscore the CFP pathway’s potential to support the global
aviation industry’s lower carbon intensity objectives while
producing other renewable fuels and products.