Production of Aviation Fuel from Plastic Waste

The increasing use of aviation fuels has led to the development of clean conversion methods for the production of sustainable aviation fuels. This chapter provides an in-depth study of aviation fuel production from disposable plastics utilising advanced and sustainable technologies. Some sustainable methods used for producing aviation fuel through thermochemical conversion include conventional pyrolysis, microwave-assisted pyrolysis, innovative heat treatment, improved oxidation, and solar-assisted pyrolysis. The effectiveness of implementing technologies was evaluated by examining the characteristics and output of sustainable aviation fuels. The findings indicate that the primary constituents of aviation fuels consist of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, specifically alkanes, alkenes, monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The aviation fuel yields obtained using different technologies range from 10–90 wt% along with significant gaseous products. It was observed from the study that while various thermochemical systems have been explored for the production of aviation fuels, there is still considerable potential to improve both the quantity and quality of sustainable aviation fuels.