Indonesian state energy company Pertamina is scaling up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production as part of the country’s wider plan to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation sector, BioEnergy Times wrote, citing a Channel News India report.
As part of its plans, the company would be expanding SAF output at its existing refineries and studying the development of new green refineries, the 26 November report said.
The company, which currently produces SAF at its Cilacap refinery in Central Java, will be developing further facilities in South Sumatra, Riau, West Java and East Kalimantan, according to the report.
At the November COP30 climate conference in Brazil, the Indonesian government - which is aiming to increase the national SAF blending mandate for international flights to 5% by 2035 - announced a target of producing more than 1M kilolitres/year of SAF by 2030, with used cooking oil (UCO) set to be a major feedstock.
Pertamina’s Cilacap refinery has a production capacity of produce approximately 1.4M litres of SAF/day with UCO comprising around 3% of its feedstock.
The refinery converts UCO into SAF using a series of chemical processes. The oil is mixed with kerosene, heated to about 70°C and then moved into a reactor where it is heated to over 300°C and passed through layers of catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions. Hydrogen is also added to stabilise the mixture.
To boost SAF production, Pertamina was working to increase the proportion of UCO in its blends and improved catalysts were also being tested, the report said.
“Our research and development team is always trying to improve the catalyst so that the used cooking oil content can be increased to more than 3%,” process engineer Novan Adhi Prakasa was quoted as saying.
“This can also be achieved by increasing the capacity and productivity of the green refinery unit.”
Indonesia has significant potential UCO supplies, according to the report.
The country uses about 6M-7M tonnes/year of cooking oil, Pertamina deputy president director Oki Muraza was quoted as saying.
“If we could collect just 20% of that, like in developed countries, we would have a large amount of raw material – enough to supply the domestic industry.”
Although Indonesia has an estimated potential of around 1M litres/year of UCO, almost 95% of it is exported to Europe and other Asian markets, according to the report.
Local collection initiatives could redirect more of this toward domestic SAF production, BioEnergy Times wrote.
