Advanced BioFuels USA

by Cécile Michaut (Institut Polytechnique de Paris/Biofuels Digest) Aviation is counting on the use of biofuels and petrol-free synthetic fuels to reduce carbon emissions. Technically it is possible, but some say it’s still too expensive. Hear from Samuel Saysset, Lead techno advisor at ENGIE Research; Jean-Philippe Héraud, Process engineer at IFP Energies Nouvelles; Paul Mannes, director of Total Aviation, in charge of the worldwide business line; and Jérôme Bonini, Research and Technology Director, Safran aircraft engines and how realistic and feasible biofuels are for the aviation industry today.

In today’s Digest, Cécile Michaut from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris shares her analysis on what these 4 leaders have to say about biofuels, and more.

Key takeaways

• Biofuels provide an option to help the aviation industry reduce its carbon footprint.
• Current aeroplane models can run on jet fuel that contains 30-50% biokerosene.
• To avoid competing with food supplies, biomass composed of waste and residue is the focus of industrial processes to produce biofuels.
• At prices that are 1.5-2 times higher than kerosene, the cost remains a hurdle if biofuels are to remain competitive in comparison to fossil fuels.

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Jean-Philippe Héraud says that “because France is a very green country, the resources for these biofuels exist. A major difficulty, however, comes from the mix of where the resources are located – as opposed to oil that arrives in France in only three ports. Hence, we need to know how to collect these widespread deposits and regroup the biomass so we can better transport it, whilst adapting to seasonal variations, too.”

Hence, IFPEN has carried out research into the indirect thermochemical conversion of biomass. The biomass is gasified to obtain a synthetic gas; a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2). After purification, this gas is transformed into a synthetic paraffin using a process known as Fischer Tropsch. “We have demonstrated the feasibility of the BioTfueL project, now we have to turn it into an industrial reality, » explains Jean-Philippe Héraud.

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And he says that this is their challenge, “it seems difficult to make airline customers bear the burden without the risk of them turning away from air transport.”

Fuel represents about 25–30% of the price of a flight. “For a round trip from Paris to New York on an aircraft using 1% biofuel, the price of the ticket would increase by $5 per passenger,” explains Paul Mannes, director of aviation at Total. “For a flight using 10% biofuel, it’s ten times more, or about $50. So yes, the price could be a deterrent.”

It goes without saying that airlines will not raise ticket prices if they are not forced to do so.

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For the moment, the projet des loi de finance includes an obligation to use 1% biofuels in 2022, 2% in 2025 and 5% by 2030, in order to keep pace with the increase in demand and the availability of SAF on the market.

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French Energy company, Engie, has launched a biomass pyrogasification project called Gaya.

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The other way to make fuel from non-oil-sourced sources are synthetic fuels derived from hydrogen, which itself comes from electricity. The principle: combine hydrogen with CO2 to obtain synthetic methane, the precursor of other fuels, called ekerosene.   READ MORE

Biofuels, an alternative that is still too expensive (Polytechnique Insights)