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Washington State University scientists successfully tested a new way to produce sustainable jet fuel from lignin-based agricultural waste. Published in the journal Fuel Processing Technology, the team's research demonstrated a continuous process that directly converts lignin polymers, one of the chief components of plant cells, into a form of jet fuel that could help improve performance of sustainably produced aviation fuels.

"Our achievement takes this technology one step closer to real-world use by providing data that lets us better gauge its feasibility for commercial aviation," said lead scientist Bin Yang, professor in WSU's Department of Biological Systems Engineering.

A class of structural molecules that make plants tough and woody, lignin is derived from corn stover—the stalks, cobs and leaves left after harvest—and other agricultural byproducts.

The team developed a process called "simultaneous depolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation," which breaks down the lignin polymer and at the same time removes oxygen to create lignin-based jet fuel. At their Richland facility, the scientists introduced dissolved lignin polymer into a continuous hydrotreating reactor to produce the fuel.

Global consumption of aviation fuel reached an all-time high of nearly 100 billion gallons in 2019, and demand is expected to increase in the coming decades. Sustainable aviation fuels derived from plant-based biomass could help minimize aviation's carbon footprint, reduce contrails and meet international carbon neutrality goals.

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