Evaluation of the Brazilian potential for producing aviation biofuels through consolidated routes

Abstract

The aviation industry has set ambitious goals to reduce fuel consumption not only to reduce costs but also to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These goals include energy efficiency improvements, a carbon neutral growth from 2020 on and expressive reductions in carbon footprint by 2050. One of the strategies established for achieving these goals is the development of alternative sustainable fuels, also known as biojet fuels. Brazil may be considered a potential producer of biojet fuel given its favorable edaphoclimatic conditions that makes the country a major agricultural producer. Furthermore, the country has a high availability of resources and a vast experience in biomass utilization for biofuels production. In this sense, this dissertation presents a case study for assessing the potential of biojet fuel production in Brazil. To this end, some indicators as feedstock availability, environmental performance and the costeffectiveness of selected production routes were evaluated. Results has shown that the country has an expressive bioenergy potential that is favorably concentrated near the main localities of fuel consumption and handling in the country. Still, reductions in life cycle GHG emissions reached 94% for one of the selected routes, compared to the conventional jet fuel. However, the main production routes require high capital investments or feedstock expenses leading to high levelized fuel costs.