An increase in jet fuel consumption and its associated emissions across the world have led to the need for alternative technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). One option to produce SAFs is to utilize waste or biomass-based feedstocks that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% or more compared to conventional jet fuel. However, there is a lack of understanding of how the synergistic effects of key performance variables could hinder or help the deployment of aviation fuels on a regional scale. Here, we assess the implications of key variables–including type and quantity of waste/biomass feedstock availability near the airport, cost of SAF production, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, policies, and fuel/infrastructure logistics–on the deployment of SAF at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. We consider three ASTM International-approved SAF technologies (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids, Fischer-Tropsch, and Alcohol to Jet) that can be blended up to 50% with petroleum-based jet fuel. Results from our analysis show that woody biomass-based Fischer-Tropsch technology has the lowest fuel production costs ($2.31–$2.81/gallon gasoline equivalent) of all pathways, and it reduces life cycle GHG emissions by 86% compared to conventional jet fuel despite the higher availability of crop residues compared to either woody biomass or fats, oils, and greases. Also, infrastructure is available at O’Hare International Airport to blend SAF with Jet A fuel through three terminals directly connected to the airport via pipelines. Our sensitivity analysis shows renewable fuel incentives and feedstock price to be key performance variables affecting the production cost and deployment of SAF.

全球喷气燃料消耗及其相关排放量的增加导致需要替代技术来生产可持续航空燃料 (SAF)。生产 SAF 的一种选择是利用废物或生物质原料，与传统喷气燃料相比，这些原料有可能减少 50% 或更多的温室气体排放。然而，对于关键性能变量的协同效应如何阻碍或帮助航空燃料在区域范围内的部署，人们缺乏了解。在这里，我们评估关键变量的影响——包括机场附近废物/生物质原料可用性的类型和数量、SAF 生产成本、生命周期温室气体 (GHG) 排放、政策和燃料/基础设施物流——对部署的影响SAF 在芝加哥奥黑尔国际机场。我们考虑了三种 ASTM International 批准的 SAF 技术（加氢酯和脂肪酸、费-托合成和酒精喷气），这些技术最多可以与石油基喷气燃料混合 50%。我们的分析结果表明，基于木质生物质的费托技术在所有途径中具有最低的燃料生产成本（2.31 美元至 2.81 美元/加仑汽油当量），并且与传统喷气燃料相比，它减少了 86% 的生命周期温室气体排放，尽管与木质生物质或脂肪、油和油脂相比，作物残留物的可用性更高。此外，奥黑尔国际机场的基础设施可通过三个通过管道直接连接到机场的航站楼将 SAF 与 Jet A 燃料混合。