Mumbai: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) is making preparations to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) within the next two years to support the government’s target of achieving one percent blending, reported The Hindu Businessline.
While Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning to launch the country’s first commercial-scale SAF plant in Panipat by 2026, MRPL is establishing a 20-kilolitre-per-day plant to showcase indigenously-developed technology.
Sanjay Varma, who currently holds the additional charge of managing director at MRPL, mentioned that the management is in the process of seeking necessary board approvals for the construction of the SAF plant. Following approvals, it is expected to take about two-and-a-half years to set up the plant, with an estimated cost of approximately ₹450 crore.
MRPL has surveyed subject matter experts to identify sources for the required quantities of feed for target SAF production, including potential scale-up at a later date.
SAF is derived from waste and produced from sources such as used cooking oil, agricultural waste, fats, or non-food crops. IOC will utilize LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology for SAF production in a 50:50 joint venture. On the other hand, MRPL is relying on CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum’s single-step process, which converts used cooking oil or palm waste into SAF.
