Life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of negative carbon sustainable aviation fuels from paper sludge

Paper sludge, a solid waste from paper mills, is a promising feedstock for producing sustainable bioproducts and decarbonizing the pulp and paper industry. This study developed a life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to explore the environmental and economic feasibility of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from paper sludge with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The analysis is integrated with full-scale process design and rigorous simulation models developed in Aspen Plus. Our results show that, with CCS, the global warming potential (GWP) of SAF reaches negative carbon at –166.4 to –108.7 g CO 2 eq/MJ with a minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of $8.0–$10.0/gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE). Without CCS, the GWP increases to 38.8–71.6 g CO 2 eq/MJ, but the MFSP decreases to $5.2–$7.0/GGE. SAF production from paper sludge with CCS offers a potential solution to advance the decarbonization of the aviation sector and pulp and paper industries toward net-zero emissions.