(413f) Lignin-Based Drop-in Jet Fuel Production

Sustainable aviation fuels remain the only near-, mid-, and likely long-term solution for lowering the carbon emissions of commercial and military aviation. Utilizing lignin feedstock for production of high energy density jet fuel along with cellulosic ethanol offers an unparalleled opportunity to enhance the overall operation efficiency, carbon conversion efficiency, economic viability, and sustainability of biofuels and chemicals production. In addition, determination of sustainable aviation fuel’s chemical compositions and prediction of their properties is the critical first step for further research and development that eventually lead to the final certification process. Several catalytic processes with bifunctional catalyst Ru/H⁺-Y, Ru/Super Lewis acid, and Ru-M/H⁺-Y (M= Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn) were recently developed by our lab. Biomass-derived lignin was successfully converted into the lignin-based jet fuel, which consists of mainly paraffinic hydrocarbon species. They can be further classified into several classes, including n-paraffins, iso-paraffins, mono-, di-, and tri-cycloparaffins of which the majority contains carbon numbers in the range of 7 to 20. However, the “impurities” in the lignin wastes such as sugars, furans, and their derivatives were found to suppress metal catalysts and inhibit lignin depolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation reactions. Furthermore, the possibility of meeting drop-in specifications such as the low aromatic concentrations, which illuminates favorable energy content, energy density, possible low emissions, and high-performance characteristics, will be discussed in the presentation.