Kumar et al. (2026): From air to Jet Fuel: Techno-economic and sustainability analysis of eSAF production using direct air capture and chloralkali electrolysis

Amit Kumar, Arun Kumar Tiwari, Dia Milani, William Kubic and Deóis UaCearnaigh, IN: Energy Conversion and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121212

In recent years, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has gained significant attention due to the increasing environmental and regulatory pressure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the aviation sector. This study evaluates the feasibility of a novel renewable-powered electro synthetic SAF synthesis (eSAF) framework. The proposed framework integrates a modified absorption-based direct air capture (DAC) system with chlor-alkali electrolysis to produce the intermediate syngas to be ultimately used in Fischer-Tropsch (FT) based eSAF production. This paper explores the use of a pH swing, cold capture process in DAC for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from atmospheric air, while the chlor-alkali electrolysis process generates H₂ gas from seawater, enabling the co-production of syngas precursors from renewable feedstocks. The optimisation work reported in this study aims to minimize the cost of hydrogen storage by producing eMethane as an intermediate product via the Sabatier reaction.

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