Fast pyrolysis pathway for production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from demolition wood: Experimental and process simulation approach

Farrukh Ilyas Abid, Muddasser Inayat, Timo Laukkanen, Elmeri Pienihäkkinen, Tyko Viertiö, Pouya Sirous-Rezaei, Alexander Reznichenko, Juha Lehtonen, Mika Järvinen
Biomass and Bioenergy  •  Volume 206 (2026)   FEATURED BOOK
The escalating adverse climate impacts of aviation industry have attracted the attention of research towards the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for mitigating the climate change. This study aims to investigate the demolition wood as a potential feedstock to produce SAF through fast pyrolysis process. A steady-state process simulation model was developed in Aspen Plus® and validated experimentally. The simulation model developed for SAF production comprises pyrolysis process, hydrotreating of bio-oil, fractionation of hydrotreated-oil, production of H2 gas through Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, purification of aqueous stream, and combustion of char blocks. The process simulation model has produced 52.8 wt% bio-oil, 20.5 wt% char, and 10.8 wt% gases by using yield-based pyrolysis reactor at operating temperature of 500 °C. Experimental results have demonstrated 49.9 wt% bio-oil yield at 500 °C pyrolysis temperature and 1 s reactants residence time. The simulation model indicated 12.2 wt% SAF yield, and physiochemical properties of SAF were also found consistent with the ASTM D7566 standard. It was also indicated that around 0.07 kg of H2 per kg of bio-oil is needed for hydro-processing reactions at 99.9 % purity of H2 gas. The process simulation model also estimated that 36.3 MW of electrical power, 6.9 MW of external heating utility and 11.7 MW of external cooling utility were required to produce 0.12 kg of SAF per kg of feedstock. Overall, the research provides a platform to examine the development of SAF production process through the fast pyrolysis of demolition wood, followed by hydro-processing and fractionation.
Sustainable-aviation fuel (SAF); Fast pyrolysis; Hydrotreating; Distillation; Process simulation
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