KROHNE has announced an expanded portfolio of process instrumentation designed to support the fast‑growing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector, helping producers improve reliability, efficiency and lifecycle performance as projects scale from first‑of‑a‑kind plants to full commercial deployment.
SAF production brings together two technically distinct worlds: renewable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, edible oils, ethanol and biogas, and the downstream refining processes traditionally associated with oil and gas.
This combination introduces significant complexity across pretreatment, hydrotreatment, isomerisation, hydrogen management and custody transfer. Each stage demands robust, application‑specific measurement to ensure safe, stable and economically viable operation.
“The SAF industry brings together two very different worlds,” says Yannick Farine, industry manager biofuels and bioenergy at KROHNE.
“Success depends on understanding the behaviour of renewable feedstocks upstream while also meeting the demands of downstream refining. Our goal is to help customers optimise processes, reduce maintenance and build SAF plants they can rely on for years to come.”
A key focus of KROHNE’s SAF strategy is the wider adoption of ultrasonic flowmeters.
With no internal restrictions or moving parts, they are well suited to abrasive feedstocks, hydrogen‑rich streams and high‑pressure steam, and can operate at temperatures up to 600°C. Their advanced noise‑filtering capabilities also support accurate hydrogen measurement, a known challenge due to the gas’s high velocity of sound.
For applications requiring maximum accuracy and direct mass measurement, KROHNE highlights its single straight‑tube Coriolis mass flowmeters.
Their full‑bore design reduces wear in abrasive and two‑phase flow conditions, while entrained‑gas management technology ensures reliable performance at temperatures up to 400°C — supporting mass‑balance integrity and yield optimisation.
KROHNE also addresses cost drivers such as feedstock variability, hydrogen utilisation and maintenance demands by supplying durable, well‑matched instrumentation and integrated solutions including custody‑transfer skids, leak‑detection systems and blending skids.
By combining expertise in conventional refining with deep knowledge of renewable feedstocks, KROHNE aims to support SAF developers, EPCs and operators with measurement solutions that enhance process stability, safety and long‑term economics.
