2025 AIChE Annual Meeting

(546d) Assessing Alternative Pathways for Jet Fuel Production through Comprehensive Biomass Utilization

Authors

Marianthi Ierapetritou, University of Delaware
Dionisios Vlachos, University of Delaware - Catalysis Center For Ener
Sunitha Sadula, University of Delaware
The production of sustainable fuels from biomass sources is a wide-scale effort to reduce global dependencies on petrochemicals and fossil fuels. In 2022, the transportation sector was the source of 29% of carbon emissions in the United States, with aircrafts accounting for 9% of transportation emissions.1 While many countries, states, and territories have begun to allocate time and resources into the switch to biofuels, the biggest hurdle lies in competing with well-integrated petrochemical and fuel industries. Lack of industrial commercialization of biofuel products, public awareness, and unproven technology prevents sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) from being successfully integrated into fuel markets. With initiatives such as the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) project, and Long term global aspirational goal (LTAG) for international aviation, this project highlights biofuel processes that could accelerate the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels worldwide. To reduce carbon emissions and develop sustainable fuels, researchers are exploring corn stover—a byproduct of corn processing—as a promising biomass resource. Rich in lignocellulose, widely available, and economically viable, corn stover shows strong potential for renewable energy production.2

This research explores a fully integrated biorefinery approach to convert corn stover into sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) by leveraging all three principal biomass components—glucose, xylose, and lignin. Building on experimental chemistries developed at the University of Delaware, we design and analyze conversion pathways wherein: glucose is processed into jet-range alkanes, xylose is converted via two distinct routes into branched fatty acids, and lignin is depolymerized into aromatic and cyclic monomers with high relevance for SAF formulations.3-6 An end-to-end process model is constructed in Aspen Plus V12, enabling rigorous mass and energy balance calculations. We perform a comprehensive techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the minimum selling price (MSP), global warming potential (GWP), and broader sustainability metrics such as ocean acidification and human toxicity using IPCC and TRACI impact assessment tools.4 Comparative benchmarking against state-of-the-art SAF production technologies and fossil-derived jet fuels demonstrates the viability of this holistic approach to biomass valorization. Our results highlight the importance of feedstock utilization efficiency in advancing both the economic and environmental performance of next-generation aviation fuels.

References:
1) EPA. “Transportation Sector Emissions | US EPA.” US EPA, 9 Jan. 2025, www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/transportation-sector-emissions.
2) Saini, R.; Osorio-Gonzalez, C. S.; Hegde, K.; Brar, S. K.; Magdouli, S.; Vezina, P.; Avalos-Ramirez, A. Lignocellulosic Biomass-Based Biorefinery: an Insight into Commercialization and Economic Standout. Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports 2020, 7 (4), 122-136.
3) Liu, S.; Dutta, S.; Zheng, W.; Gould, N. S.; Cheng, Z.; Xu, B.; Saha, B.; Vlachos, D. G., Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of high carbon furylmethanes to renewable jet‐fuel ranged alkanes over a rhenium modified iridium catalyst. ChemSusChem 2017, 10 (16), 3225-3234.
4) Athaley, A.; Saha, B.; Ierapetritou, M., Biomass‐based chemical production using techno‐economic and life cycle analysis. AIChE Journal 2019, 65 (9), e16660.
5) Andini, E.; Bragger, J.; Sadula, S.; Vlachos, D. G., Production of neo acids from biomass-derived monomers. Green Chemistry 2023, 25 (9), 3493-3502.
6) Shuai, L.; Sitison, J.; Sadula, S.; Ding, J.; Thies, M. C.; Saha, B. Selective C–C bond cleavage of methylene-linked lignin models and kraft lignin. Acs Catalysis 2018, 8 (7), 6507-6512