Newly-approved aviation biofuel

Amyris, a renewable energy provider, has designed microorganisms that convert plant sugars to a molecule called farnesene. Farnesene is then converted into a pure hydrocarbon through a secondary process.

The resulting product, farnesane, can be blended with Jet A/A1 at 10% blends, in accordance with the revised ASTM standard.

Amyris is currently producing renewable farnesene from sugarcane at its biorefinery in southeastern Brazil. This biorefinery is the first facility in Brazil to receive certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB).

In the short term, this new fuel pathway will be significant for Brazil, as sugarcane is a widely available. Boeing anticipates that the US, United Arab Emirates and several other countries will be instrumental in instating this fuel-processing method in the future.