Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Waste

Aviation is among the most difficult sectors to decarbonize because the constraints on jet fuel are unforgiving: high energy density, low-temperature flow, and exacting safety specifications leave little room for novelty.

Waste as the Underused Feedstock Pool

Most SAF today comes from used cooking oil and agricultural fats, feedstocks with a real ceiling on how far they can scale. Waste-derived routes — tire and plastic pyrolysis oil, municipal residuals, and industrial waste oils — represent a far larger and largely untapped pool. Pyrolysis oil, in particular, can be coprocessed in refinery units or upgraded through dedicated pathways into fractions that meet jet-fuel specifications.

Why Feedstock Quality Decides the Outcome

The path from waste to SAF is gated by feedstock chemistry. Jet fuel tolerates very little oxygen, metals, sulfur, and other contaminants, so raw pyrolysis oil must be rigorously upgraded — hydrotreating, hydroisomerization, and in some cases additional purification — before it can be certified. The cost and complexity of that upgrade depends directly on how clean and consistent the incoming oil is.

The Certification and Carbon Accounting Layer

SAF is not just a fuel; it is a fuel with auditable claims. Certification under established sustainability schemes requires documented feedstock provenance, verified carbon-intensity reduction, and traceable supply-chain custody. Waste-derived feedstocks score well on carbon intensity precisely because they divert material from disposal, but only if that diversion is documented.

The Path Forward for Feedstock Producers

For pyrolysis and waste-to-energy operators, SAF represents a higher-value outlet than selling raw oil into lower-tier fuel markets — but only for those willing to meet specification and certification requirements. The realistic route is staged: characterize the feedstock, pilot the upgrade pathway, secure a refinery or offtake partner, then scale.

Learn More:

• Pyrolysis oil production
• e-Fuels and carbon capture
• Hydrogen production systems
• Refinery certification for waste-derived fuel

Turn Residuals into Aviation Fuel Feedstock

Waste-derived feedstock can reach jet-grade specification, opening a higher-value outlet for pyrolysis operators who meet certification standards.

Evaluating whether your feedstock can reach aviation grade?

Contact Klean Industries about sustainable aviation fuel feedstock and project feasibility » GO.