Page 131 - CW E-Magazine (25-6-2024)

Point of View

Sustainable aviation fuel – Opportunity for India

Refineries that have traditionally focussed on producing fuels and petrochemical feedstocks are rethinking strategies to transition
to a more sustainable future. Their mission is two-fold: lower the carbon footprint of operations by switching from crude oil to other
renewable feedstock; and increase the share of petrochemicals produced. The latter is possibly easier than the former, but both come
with challenges.

Shifting focus from fuels to petrochemicals
Take the change in focus from fuels to petrochemicals. While refineries have historically produced petrochemical feedstock, what
has changed is the extent to which this is being done. Ambitious plans seek to take as much as 60% of crude oil processed to petro-
chemicals, and though this is still work in progress, the first major projects in this direction – producing aromatics – have come up in
China. More are on the way, including in India, where Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has announced plans.
These mammoth projects will have far-reaching impacts and could fundamentally alter the dynamics of the petrochemical business.
Particularly vulnerable are standalone petrochemical plants without access to competitively priced feedstock.

Processing renewable feedstock for biofuels
The second transition, still at very early stages, is the reconfiguration of refineries to process alternate feedstocks – derived from
renewable sources – and partly produce renewable fuels that serve automotive, aviation and petrochemical markets. These include
mainly renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), demand for which is being driven by current and forthcoming legislation.

While switching existing refineries to produce renewable fuels by modifying their hydrotreating and separation processes is more
cost-effective and faster than building greenfield ones, it is nevertheless a challenging project.

Routes to SAF
Using technology available today, SAF can be synthesized from renewable feedstocks such as municipal and agricultural waste and
forestry and agricultural residues. In addition, it can be produced as e-fuels, also called power-to-liquid fuels (PtL), from green hydrogen
and CO collected from industrial plants and other point sources – including direct air carbon capture (DACC) as the technology matures.
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Depending on the feedstock and technological production pathway, SAF can in theory be up to 100% less carbon-intensive over its
life cycle compared to conventional jet fuel. As ASTM-approved SAF is virtually identical to its fossil-fuel counterpart, it has “drop-in”
status, which is a huge advantage.

Drivers for the shift
The major driver for converting a refinery to using renewable feedstock to produce RD and SAF comes from government policy, not
markets. The aviation industry, in particular, is in focus, as this industry is hard to decarbonise with fewer options available; hydrogen,
for one, does not seem to be viable for now, nor is electrification. In this context, SAF is currently seen as the most likely option, and
several major economies are setting mandates for incorporation of SAF in the fuel used for aviation.
In July 2021, the European Commission published a package of legislative proposals branded “Fit for 55”. One component of the
package is the ReFuelEU proposal, which aims to boost production and uptake of SAF. The proposal includes a blending mandate
imposed on aviation fuel suppliers, with the obligation for the suppliers to ensure that all aviation fuel supplied to aircraft operators at
EU airports contains a minimum share of SAF, including a minimum share of synthetic fuel. The mandate is expected to start in 2025
with a minimum volume of SAF at 2%, increasing in five-year intervals to ultimately reach a minimum volume of 63% in 2050, of which
28% would consist of synthetic aviation fuels.
In September 2021, the US government announced a goal to increase the production of SAF to at least 3 billion gallons per year
by 2030.
In India, the civil aviation ministry is developing a strategy for the adoption of SAF by Indian airlines and is aiming to propose a
1-5% usage of SAF starting 2027. While India is trailing other regions in terms of maturity of the supply chain for SAF (unlike the case

Chemical Weekly June 25, 2024 131

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