Carinata, pictured in full bloom at a producer鈥檚 field in Georgia, is a winter cover crop of interest as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel. Credit: Southeast Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists led the development of a supply chain model revealing the optimal places to site farms, biorefineries, pipelines and other infrastructure for sustainable aviation fuel production.
The project focused on carinata, a hardy, oil-rich plant targeted as a winter bioenergy crop in Georgia. Scientists to grow, harvest, store, process and deliver carinata-based fuel at the lowest cost and carbon intensity.
鈥淥ur model is unique in capturing the fuel鈥檚 life-cycle carbon footprint,鈥� said ORNL鈥檚 Kazi Ullah. 鈥淚t can be used to model the supply chain for other bioenergy crops that may qualify for new sustainable aviation fuel incentives.鈥�
鈥淚f you can continue to grow bioenergy crops in the winter, you not only get more feedstock, you also get more carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil,鈥� said ORNL鈥檚 John Field. 鈥淭his model takes all that into account.鈥� 鈥� Stephanie Seay
