Drop-in sustainable aviation fuels enabled by feedstock-agnostic lignin deoxygenation
<h2>Summary</h2> Current sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) require blending with petroleum-derived fuels due to incomplete hydrocarbon distributions, most notably a lack of aromatics. Lignin, the most abundant renewable source of aromatics, is a promising feedstock for addressing this limitation. Here, we demonstrate a sequential reductive catalytic fractionation and continuous hydrodeoxygenation process that converts multiple woody feedstocks into aromatic hydrocarbons at up to 93% of the theoretical carbon yield. Blending these products with commercial SAFs produces drop-in compatible fuels with elastomer swell performances equivalent to conventional aviation fuels. The process is adaptable across multiple biomass sources, yielding aromatic hydrocarbons with consistent enthalpic efficiencies and fuel properties. These findings establish a scalable route to 100% drop-in SAFs, leveraging lignin-derived aromatics within the existing biofuels infrastructure.
Authors
- Jeremy R. Bussard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7711-7969)
- Yuriy Román‐Leshkov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0025-4233)
- Gregg T. Beckham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3480-212X)
- Logan C. Myers
- Joshua S. Heyne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1782-9056)
- Michael L. Stone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6341-7183)
- Jamison Watson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5400-5999)
- Matthew S. Webber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4475-6101)
- Zhibin Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2857-720X)
- David G. Brandner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4296-4855)
- David C. Bell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7463-0035)
- Xianyuan Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9360-1408)
- Quinn S. Neuendorf
Institutions
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- National Laboratory of the Rockies (US)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Washington State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell Reports Physical Science
- Published
- 2025-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102687
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Catalysis and Hydrodesulfurization Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.99
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Office of Science
- Biological and Environmental Research
- Bioenergy Technologies Office
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory