Advances in wood processing will significantly reduce the cost of aviation fuel
A lignin processing technology that will increase the production of biofuels from technological processes for processing plant raw materials has been developed by a team at the University of California.
Lignin is classified as waste and is considered a substance that is difficult to recycle - they preferred to simply burn it.
To process lignin, the organic chemical tetrahydrofuran is used in combination with dilute acids. The need now is to adapt production to use high-lignin materials such as wood instead of traditional corn straw.
So, from straw you can get 167 liters of gasoline per ton of dry material. When adding lignin breakdown, this figure increases to 196 liters, and 287 liters of fuel can be obtained from poplar wood.
Thus, from a theoretical point of view, this technology will reduce the cost of aviation fuel to $3.15 per gallon, with the current average price of aircraft biofuel being $9.28 per gallon. In reality, much depends on subsidies, permits and other production conditions.
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