Australia to produce aviation fuel from sugarcane residues

Australia is planning a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project that will use sugarcane residues as feedstock. Project Lion will be developed in the Burdekin region of North Queensland and could produce up to 125 thsd tons of SAF per year once it reaches full operational scale.

The project will use sugarcane tops, leaves and other crop residues left after harvesting, which are often burned in the field. The initiative will therefore turn agricultural waste with limited commercial value into feedstock for low-carbon fuel production.

Nextchem, a subsidiary of MAIRE, has been selected as a technology partner for the project. Through MyRechemical, it will provide licensing, a process design package and engineering services for the syngas section. Using NX Circular Gasification technology, sugarcane residues will be converted into purified chemical-grade syngas.

The resulting syngas will then be converted into SAF and renewable diesel using third-party technologies. The developers expect the project to create an additional use for locally available agricultural biomass while supplying low-carbon fuels to the aviation sector.

Nextchem said Australia is becoming an increasingly important market for renewable fuel development. Project Lion also highlights the potential of agricultural residues as SAF feedstock: instead of being burned in fields, the biomass can enter a new production chain and generate additional economic value.

Tags: Australia, sugar, biofuel