Co-Processed SAF

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is pointing to co-processing and low carbon aviation fuel as pragmatic, near-term routes to sustainable aviation fuel, as the industry confronts a supply gap that leaves only about 2.4 million tonnes of SAF available in 2026 — around 0.8 percent of aviation’s fuel demand on the road to net zero by 2050.

Blending Into Existing Refineries

Co-processing blends biogenic feedstocks directly into existing refinery processes to produce Co-Processed SAF that meets the ASTM D1655 jet fuel standard. Current ASTM rules allow renewable feedstock to make up 5 percent of the blend with crude oil, while the United Kingdom’s Defence Standard 91-091 has recently raised that threshold to 30 percent for hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, though the higher level has not yet been approved under ASTM.

A Proven But Limited Option

Raising co-processing limits imposes real costs on refiners, including investment in feedstock pretreatment, hydrogen capacity and refinery retrofits. Combined with limited incentives and fragmented feedstock-eligibility rules across jurisdictions, that is why only 18 refineries worldwide currently co-process today, usually at blend rates no higher than 2.5 percent. Because each refinery is unique in its configuration, using more sustainable biogenic feedstock also calls for careful assessment of supply chains and process-unit limits.

Contribution To Net Zero

Even so, IATA regards co-processed fuel as a proven, lower-cost option compared with building dedicated SAF plants, and notes that both it and its companion option, low carbon aviation fuel, are likely to be cost-effective against a SAF price currently around three to four times that of conventional jet fuel. Its finance roadmap estimates co-processing could supply up to 2.6 million tonnes of fuel by 2030 — enough to meet the European Union’s 2030 SAF mandate — by leaning on refining and distribution infrastructure that already exists rather than new capital projects.

Pyrolysis Oil Into SAF And Marine Fuel

Klean Industries is actively developing pyrolysis oil routes for sustainable aviation fuel and marine fuel, including a marine-fuel and tire-pyrolysis-oil co-processing project and a UK sustainable low-carbon fuels project. As refiners weigh co-processing renewable feedstock into existing units, Klean brings the pyrolysis oil supply and project experience that make those blend rates achievable.

Learn More:

• Marine fuel and co-processing of tire pyrolysis oil
• UK sustainable low-carbon fuels project
• Feasibility studies

Co-Process Pyrolysis Oil Into SAF

Pyrolysis oil co-processing gives refiners a near-term route to lower-carbon aviation and marine fuel using existing units.

Klean Industries develops pyrolysis oil projects for SAF co-processing, marine fuel and low-carbon fuels, backed by feasibility studies and plant engineering.

Evaluating pyrolysis oil co-processing for SAF or marine fuel?

Contact Klean Industries about pyrolysis oil co-processing » GO.