Sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol: Techno-economic analysis and life cycle analysis

Uddin, Md Mosleh; Lee, Uisung; Xu, Hui; Li, Yuan; Kwon, Hoyoung; Zhang, Yimin; Smolinski, Sharon; Cai, Hao; Tao, Ling

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126373

Sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol: Techno-economic analysis and life cycle analysis

Journal Article · Sat Jul 12 04:00:00 EDT 2025 · Applied Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126373· OSTI ID:2574767

Uddin, Md Mosleh ^[1]; ^[2]; Xu, Hui ^[2]; Li, Yuan ^[2]; Kwon, Hoyoung ^[2]; Zhang, Yimin ^[1]; ^[1]; Cai, Hao ^[2]; ^[1]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is crucial for improving energy security, enhancing domestic production, and reducing carbon emissions in the aviation sector. Among various SAF production technologies, the ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) pathway is a promising option due to its economic viability and technological maturity. This study integrates a techno-economic analysis (TEA) and a life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate emissions reduction strategies for SAF production via the ETJ pathway, considering use of ethanol derived from both corn grain and corn stover. Conventional corn grain-derived ETJ fuel reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 22 % compared to fossil jet fuel, with potential reductions of 26 %–96 % when incorporating renewable energy sources, with a 6 %–32 % increase in the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP). Corn stover-derived ETJ achieves a 77 % GHG reduction but with higher MFSPs compared to corn grain ETJ. Carbon capture and storage (CCS without considering the cost for piping and sequestration, only compression) reduces the emissions of corn grain-derived ETJ by up to 32 gCO₂e/MJ and enables negative emissions for corn stover-derived ETJ, with MFSP increases ranging from 1 % to 22 %. While carbon capture and utilization (CCU) increase ethanol yield by 47 %, it raises MFSPs by 54 % due to high electricity demand. Sustainable farming practices provide only limited carbon intensity (CI) reductions individually but do offer cumulative benefits when combined. These findings highlight the trade-offs between cost and environmental impact, providing insights to optimize SAF production strategies and support aviation sector goals for emissions reduction.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357; AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 2574767

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5100-87809

Journal Information:: Applied Energy, Journal Name: Applied Energy Vol. 398; ISSN 0306-2619

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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