A pilot project completed at the end of last year demonstrated the ability of a technology to convert a range of feedstocks into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at lower cost than current ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) processes. Universal Fuel Technologies (UniFuel; Los Altos, Calif.; unifuel.tech) developed a process, known as Flexiforming, that can transform mixtures of alcohols, naphthas, petroleum gas and light olefins into SAF, gasoline or BTX (benzene, toluene, xylenes).
The five-month pilot project, conducted in Texas in late 2024, produced almost 100 L of renewable SAF from multiple renewable feedstocks. The pilot campaign focused on converting methanol and ethanol to SAF, as well as making SAF from ethanol with paraffinic renewable naphtha made via hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA).
“The world of renewable fuels is characterized by many different and often small streams of feedstocks that would be considered weird when compared to derivatives of crude oil,” explains UniFuel CEO Alexei Beltyukov. “Flexiforming is designed to adapt to that reality by allowing the flexibility to process multiple diverse feedstocks in an economical way.”
The process uses a zeolite catalyst with proprietary modifications that allow it to tolerate water and to handle a variety of feeds. The ability of the Flexiforming technology to make aromatic molecules, which are required to meet jet fuel specifications, and to process various feedstocks through a single technology platform where most of the chemical reactions occur in one reactor vessel significantly lowers production costs, Beltyukov says. “Flexiforming doesn’t require a separate set of equipment for dehydrating ethanol to ethylene, and another one for oligomerization, and doesn’t require compressing the ethylene gas, so both the capital expenses and energy requirements are lower than other EtJ processes,” he points out. Unifuel estimates Flexiforming to be half the cost of current ETJ processes.
After the completion of the pilot, samples of Flexiforming SAF underwent analysis at Washington State University — an initial step for ASTM certification. Unifuel is seeking technology licensing customers for making high-octane gasoline and BTX as it submits samples of SAF for ASTM certification.