Firefly has developed a groundbreaking solution to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from post-anaerobic digested sewage sludge (biosolids). The first-of-a-kind commercial plant, based in Harwich, is planned to be operational by 2028/2029, and will be realised through a collaborative effort between Firefly Green Fuels, Chevron Lummus Global, several UK utility companies, and Haltermann Carless. Firefly has the potential in the UK to process more than 3 million tonnes of biosolids per annum, helping to address the water industry's land bank issue, whilst contributing to the UK Government's targeted SAF mandate of 10% by 2030 and 22% by 2040. Firefly's core enabling technology is hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), a wet thermochemical process that eliminates the need for feedstock drying. This presentation will highlight recent advancements in producing biocrude from biosolids, based on the first industrial-scale HTL trial conducted in the UK. Additionally, new findings will be shared on the impact of the HTL aqueous phase on biological treatment processes within wastewater treatment system.
Ines Baptista, Mark Douthwaite, Sergio Lima, Firefly Green Fuels Ltd