US-based LanzaTech Global has partnered with Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company (Tadweer), the sole custodian of waste management for Abu Dhabi, to initiate an integrated waste-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feasibility study to scale SAF production from municipal and commercial solid waste.

Headquartered in Illinois, LanzaTech is a carbon recycling company transforming waste carbon into sustainable raw materials for everyday products.

Using its biorecycling technology, LanzaTech captures carbon generated by energy-intensive industries at the source, preventing it from being emitted into the air. It then gives that captured carbon a new life as a clean replacement for virgin fossil carbon in everything from household cleaners and clothing fibers to packaging and fuels.

According to experts, the proposed facility is likely to see up to 350,000 tonnes of hard-to-recycle municipal and commercial solid waste getting transformed into 200,000 tonnes of ethanol per year, ultimately producing 120,000 tonnes of SAF annually.

Tadweer Managing Director and CEO Ali Al Dhaheri said: “The waste management industry has the potential to reduce almost 1.8 gigatonnes of emitted CO2 per year, an indicator of its critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

"We look forward to working closely with LanzaTech on developing a waste-to-SAF solution, which strengthens our efforts to implement a sustainable waste management system in the Emirate. This builds on our vision of becoming an international model for a circular economy," he stated.

LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren said: “Recycling municipal solid waste, rather than letting it pile up in landfills, offers incredible potential to produce sustainable aviation fuel at scale and reduce air travel’s carbon footprint."

"This solution creates an alternative, lower carbon supply chain. With LanzaTech’s technology in Tadweer’s facilities, this project is an opportunity to address the climate crisis on two fronts simultaneously and keep virgin fossil fuels in the ground," she noted.

Majed Al Marzouqi, serving as Project Manager of the WTSAF project under Tadweer, emphasized the project's key role in contributing to the UAE's National SAF Road Map.

He underscored that the project aims to sustainably recover solid waste to produce SAF fuel, aligning with global environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) standards.

"The WTSAF project not only advances the UAE's position in sustainable SAF production but also demonstrates a commitment to aligning with international environmental standards," he noted.

"The facility will work by transforming solid waste streams into a synthesis gas consisting of CO, CO2 and H2, via a gasification unit licensed by sustainable technology solutions provider NextChem, part of MARIE Group," explained Al Marzouqi.

The gas stream is then transformed by LanzaTech’s microbe-powered bioreactor into CarbonSmartTM ethanol. The ethanol will then be converted to SAF by LanzaJet, a separate company spun-out of LanzaTech, focused on commercializing SAF, he added.

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