Life-Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Derived from Paper Sludge

Lan, Kai; Cruz, David; Li, Jinyue; Agyei Boakye, Amma Asantewaa; Park, Hyeonji; Tiller, Phoenix; Mittal, Ashutosh; Johnson, David K.; Park, Sunkyu; Yao, Yuan

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c00795

Title: Life-Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Derived from Paper Sludge

Journal Article · 26 April 2024 · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c00795 · OSTI ID:2361058

Lan, Kai ^[1];

^[2]; Li, Jinyue ^[3];

^[3]; Park, Hyeonji ^[2]; Tiller, Phoenix ^[2];

^[4];

^[2];

^[5]

Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 380 Edwards Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States; Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 380 Edwards Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 380 Edwards Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States; Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, 17 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States

Converting waste paper sludge to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offers a circular economy strategy to decarbonize the aviation sector. Here, this study develops a life-cycle assessment (LCA) for converting high-ash paper sludge to SAF in the U.S. using a catalytic sugar upgrading system that consists of ash removal, enzymatic hydrolysis, dehydration, aldol condensation, and hydroprocessing. The LCA is coupled with a process simulation for an industrial-scale biorefinery based on experimental data. We quantified the carbon intensity as 35.7–41.8 gCO₂eq MJ^–1 SAF (–636 to –584 gCO₂eq per dry kg paper sludge) with acetone as a solvent, renewable fuel, and biobased chemicals; this is further reduced to 5.1–11.1 gCO₂eq MJ^–1 (–925 to –873 gCO₂eq per dry kg paper sludge) if ash is recycled and used for substituting cement. Converting 1 dry kg paper sludge to SAF with acetone, renewable fuel, and biobased chemicals (–925 to –584 gCO₂eq) is more climate beneficial than landfilling without landfill gas recovery (791 gCO₂eq) and with landfill gas recovery (–294 gCO₂eq). More than 330 million gallons of SAF can be produced annually (>4 million dry t paper sludge/year in the U.S.), resulting in a reduction of 2–7 million tCO₂eq.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)

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

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; EE0008498

OSTI ID:: 2361058

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--2800-89956; MainId:90735; UUID:eafb7b2b-3ce6-485d-a4c5-1ca9a9ce16d6; MainAdminId:72652

Journal Information:: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Journal Name: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 12; ISSN 2168-0485

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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09 BIOMASS FUELS
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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Title: Life-Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Derived from Paper Sludge

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