A planned sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in Australia could produce up to 125,000 tonnes of SAF annually by using sugarcane tops and trash as feedstock, highlighting the potential of agricultural waste as a source for cleaner aviation fuel.
MAIRE’s Nextchem has secured a technology and engineering contract for Project Lion, a sustainable fuels facility planned in Queensland’s Burdekin region. Through its subsidiary MyRechemical, Nextchem will provide the licence, Process Design Package and engineering services for the plant’s syngas section. SKY Renewables Burdekin Pty Ltd awarded the contract, Indian Chemical News reported.
The project will collect locally available sugarcane tops and trash, which are often burned in fields, and convert them into purified syngas using Nextchem’s NX Circular Gasification technology.
The syngas will then be converted into SAF and renewable diesel using technologies provided by third parties. At full capacity, Project Lion could produce up to 125,000 tonnes of SAF each year.
The project is designed to turn an agricultural waste stream into a feedstock for sustainable fuels while supporting efforts to reduce emissions from aviation. It will also promote greater use of locally available biomass resources in the Burdekin region.
Fabio Fritelli, Managing Director of Nextchem, said the project demonstrates the potential of the company’s technology to produce sustainable fuels from renewable and residual materials.
Fritelli said Nextchem was proud to contribute to the Australian project, which he described as part of the growing sustainable fuels industry and an important market for the company.
He said the technology would enable sugarcane residues to be converted into low-carbon fuels while supporting the aviation sector’s efforts to reduce emissions.
The project also strengthens Nextchem’s position in the emerging market for fuels produced from renewable and waste materials and underlines the role agricultural residues could play in the development of SAF.
