USA BioEnergy finalises JM, Honeywell tech for Texas SAF facility

USA BioEnergy announced it has selected Johnson Matthey (JM) and Honeywell to provide their process technologies for the production of synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) at its Bon Wier, Texas biorefinery.

“By utilising forest thinnings for bioenergy production with carbon capture and sequestration technologies, our integration with Johnson Matthey and Honeywell will help us create this fully integrated, alternative fuels solution,” said Nick Andrews, CEO of USA BioEnergy.

JM/bp’s FT CANS technology and Honeywell UOP’s FT Unicracking process technology, which both use the Fischer Tropsch pathway, will be deployed to produce SPK. USA BioEnergy will also implement Honeywell’s Experion PKS Distributed Control System (DCS) and safety system.

“This project is another great example of FT CANS being deployed at scale to support the decarbonisation of air travel. It builds on our existing pipeline in the USA, showing continued support for projects that contribute to domestic energy security, fuel security, and jobs,” said Alberto Giovanzana, managing director licensing at Johnson Matthey.

Once operational, the Bon Wier plant is expected to convert 1m tons of biomass annually – using responsibly-sourced forest thinning as feedstock – into 65m gallons of fuels including SAF.

“We are excited to add two of the world’s leading technology providers to our team. We are creating the best fully integrated solution in the advanced fuels industry,” said Tony Wedell, COO of USA BioEnergy.

USA BioEnergy recently announced a 20-year SAF supply agreement with Southwest Airlines for the purchase of up to 680m gallons of SPK.