ASTM Standards for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Producers

Positive interest is growing for increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel in the commercial airline industry. In recent months, the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM), approved and published a new 7th Annex to ASTM D7566 (Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons) to establish the criteria for blending sustainable aviation fuel with conventional jet fuel. 

The ASTM standard is the 7th approved pathway for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It allows for commercial airliners to use a blend of conventional jet fuel with up to 10 percent by volume of synthesized paraffinic kerosene from hydro processed hydrocarbons, esters and fatty acids (HC-HEFA-SPK) fuel, developed by IHI Corporation. According to airline industry association Airlines for America, this pathway was reviewed under ‘fast track’ conditions with the help of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help guide SAF producers through the assessment and approval process. 

This new development continues the process that began in 2011 that first allowed renewable fuels to be blended with conventional (or gas turbine) fuels. Today less than 3% of the world’s transport fuels come from biofuels. This percentage is hundreds of millions of gallons of biofuels lower than anticipated and mandated by the United States government as well as other countries throughout the world. As a result, the growing use of alternative fuels has boosted interest in the SAF sector. 

Sustainable aviation fuels in use today are made largely from plant material and even household waste. But, as The Financial Times notes, most SAF initiatives are focused on feedstocks. This is the path that Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels is taking. Its offtake agreement with Delta Airlines to provide sustainable aviation fuel will reduce lifecycle emissions up to 80 percent compared to that of conventional jet fuel now in use. 

Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels is in the process of developing second-generation, commercial-scale, cellulosic renewable biojet fuel refineries. Its first project is under development in Washington state. NWABF’s solution is clean, renewable green commercially viable projects producing sustainable aviation fuels that meet increased demand and quality required for the aviation industry over the next 20 years.

NWABF’s world-class team of industry-leading technology companies partner together to manage front-end gasification, syngas cleaning, back-end Fischer-Tropsch technology, and fuel upgrading to premium renewable SAF. NWABF is also engaged with top-quality engineering and construction companies to design, construct, operate, and maintain the first-of-its-kind facility in Washington. 

The NWABF project is set up to provide a range of benefits. Economically, the project will provide increases in employment and in local, county, and state tax revenues. Environmentally, the project will help reduce greenhouse gases and clean up forest debris, while lowering the airline’s carbon footprint. Lastly, NWABF is committed to socio-economic benefits such as helping use its influence to support local and national charitable organizations, including providing scholarships and apprenticeship programs on Renewable Energy to native tribal communities.

For more information on Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC, contact info@nwabf.com.