CHE.02 – Have You Seen This Jet?!

• Ameena Beg
• Giselle Morales
• Asterie Moume
• Jake Swalec

As major airline companies invest in research for innovative ways to create more sustainable aircraft fuel, it is important to look at abundant resources available that can be at the forefront of the SAF push. One of those resources can be found everywhere in day-to-day life: plastic. Today, plastics have become an indispensable part of life, with an increasing demand due to the rapidly growing population and their increasing use within various industries as single use plastics. Utilizing plastic as a raw material for this process proves to decrease plastic pollution that threatens the wellbeing of the environment, while also solving the jet fuel shortage problem. Our project aims to simulate the pyrolysis of polypropylene and polyethylene waste to produce jet-grade kerosene that meets ASTM regulations. For kerosene to be derived, there are three main stages the waste must go through: pretreatment, the pyrolysis reaction, and the upgrading and separation. The plastic waste is washed during the pretreating phase, before following through to the pyrolysis section where high temperatures will melt our starting material into pyrolysis oil. This oil then undergoes hydrogen upgrading before entering multiple separation units to produce the final product: kerosene. A Process Control, Process Safety and Environmental Analysis, Operational Safety, and Economic Analysis were conducted for this process. Within this process, 120 barrels of jet-grade kerosene are produced daily and are ready to be sent off to a partnered regional airport for immediate use. Diesel, a byproduct of the process, is also sold for additional revenue for on-ground transportation. Based on the Economic Analysis, presenting a net present value of 33.56 MM$. This production demonstrates a promising future towards sustainable fuels.