France-headed chemical process technology provider Axens, an IFP Group company, has announced that it has successfully started up a first-of-its-kind 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel unit at an undisclosed site in Asia.
The facility has the capacity to convert 300,000 tonnes per annum of renewable feedstock entirely into high-value sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
This unit is a revamp of existing hydroprocessing assets in which a simple two-stage scheme was implemented.
Combined with an innovative catalyst solution, including Axens’ 700 series, this Vegan unit enables full flexibility to produce either 100 percent renewable diesel (RD) or 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), thereby addressing a challenging market demand.
Since its start-up a few months ago, the unit has demonstrated very stable operations with positive performance.
The Vegan process is thus able to prevent the co-production of renewable diesel if this is not desired, and focus on maximizing SAF.
However, according to Axens, what makes this solution unique is that 100 percent SAF mode is achieved without the need for an additional hydrocracking stage.
This, the company says, is “a major milestone for Axens Group, partners and customers, contributing to easing the energy transition through more flexible, more efficient and less CAPEX intensive solutions.”
