Is SAF the jet fuel for the future?
| Nowadays the air travel industry is trying to be more sustainable, for example they are trying to switch from traditional fossil-derived jet fuels to more renewable sources and have lower emissions during the production. The newest development in jet fuel technology is called SAF or Sustainable Aviation Fuels. ‘SAF made from renewable biomass and waste resources has the potential to deliver the performance of petroleum-based jet fuel but with a fraction of its carbon footprint, giving airlines solid footing for decoupling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from flight.’ Source: LINK |
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So, jet fuel made from biomass, just like biodiesel, could help offset the Co2 footprint, since the biomass used in the production is not adding trapped Co2 from the Oil and coal sediments to the atmosphere, and so the plants that are used for the production have “recently” been using the Co2 to grow, that is now being emitted by burning the fuel. Using oil-based fuels adds Co2 that was trapped in the earth in distant times, and so will add to the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere.
But SAF will also be more expensive to produce:
‘In 2020, the overall cost of jet fuel was $0.5 per litre. Meanwhile, the cost of SAF was $1.1 per litre. So, SAF was more than double the price of conventional jet fuel.’
Source: LINK
For a quick walk through of the Carbon cycle you can watch this short video: (LINK)
