To support the goals of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production and enhance feedstock availability, Universal Fuel Technologies (Unifuel) has successfully completed a five-month pilot project. The initiative showcased the effectiveness of the company’s Flexiforming technology, demonstrating its ability to produce SAF chemically similar to conventional jet fuel from a variety of renewable feedstocks. The project was carried out at RPD Technologies’ facilities in Crosby, Texas, from August to December of last year. It produced nearly 100 liters of SAF sample material under stable process conditions, indicating that the technology is ready for scaling. The project specifically focused on converting methanol and ethanol into SAF, as well as ethanol mixed with paraffinic renewable naphtha produced through Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) into SAF. The SAF samples produced by Unifuel’s Flexiforming technology have undergone extensive testing and are now being analyzed at Washington State University’s Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Lab for Tier 0 screening, the first step in the SAF certification process.
Joshua Heyne, Director of the Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Lab at Washington State University, emphasized the importance of advancing SAF technologies: “As an industry, we must continue to explore new technologies that enhance SAF to match the functionality of petroleum-derived jet fuel. The ability to produce aromatic molecules and process various feedstocks through a single platform not only streamlines SAF production but also lowers production costs, making it more economically viable and accessible to producers and airlines.”
The pilot resulted in two distinct types of SAF: Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene (SAK), an essential component for blending paraffinic SAF with fossil kerosene, and a fully synthetic, 100% drop-in SAF with the necessary aromatic content for commercial use, pending certification by ASTM International. This aromatic component, derived from HEFA and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) naphtha, can be combined with the primary paraffinic SAF stream, creating an opportunity to produce drop-in SAF directly at HEFA and FT units. This simplifies logistics, reduces costs, and aids in broader industry adoption.
Alexei Beltyukov, CEO of Universal Fuel Technologies, highlighted the broader implications of the pilot: “This project’s impact goes far beyond technical validation. A key advantage of Flexiforming is that it enables SAF to be fully interchangeable with fossil jet fuel once ASTM certification is achieved. Because of its aromatic properties, Unifuel’s SAK can be blended with paraffinic SAF from HEFA or FT processes and sold directly to airlines, without the need for additional blending. As the aviation sector faces growing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint and manage costs, innovations like Flexiforming could play a crucial role in scaling up SAF production to meet demand.”
Flexiforming offers flexibility in SAF production, with the pilot validating several production routes, including ethanol-to-jet (ETJ), methanol-to-jet (MTJ), and renewable naphtha-with-ethanol-to-jet (NETJ). The technology’s lower energy and hydrogen requirements mean that Unifuel estimates Flexiforming costs to be about half of current ETJ processes. Additionally, it enables renewable fuel plant operators to upgrade low-value byproduct naphtha from existing HEFA or Fischer-Tropsch processes into high-value aromatic SAF, which can be blended into fully synthetic, drop-in-ready jet fuel.
Harrison Yang, Research Assistant Professor at the Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Lab, noted, “The samples of Unifuel’s Flexiforming SAF candidates show promise for full certification as aviation turbine fuel.”
After more than a decade of research and testing, Unifuel is now preparing samples of the Flexiforming SAF produced during the pilot project for submission to ASTM for certification. This process is critical for verifying the fuel’s safety and performance characteristics, ultimately determining its suitability for commercial aviation.
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