# Renewable diesel and SAF

Renewable diesel (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel are oils and fats hydrotreated into drop-in hydrocarbons; about 17 Mt a year, mostly from waste fats.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/

Capture · Bioenergy · No. 41

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Crops and biomass
- about 16-19 Mt a year of HVO and SAF (2025, indicative, basis: US renewable diesel about 2.9 billion gallons (about 8.6 Mt), Neste 4.1 Mt sales, other EU and Asian producers); SAF 1.9 Mt in 2025 and 2.4 Mt forecast for 2026
- 1.4 t CO₂e per t
- HS 271020
 Capture · Bio-based chemicals · Foundation · Energy

Old chip-shop oil can be turned into jet fuel identical to the fossil kind, but only 0.6% of flights' fuel is.

Chart: Illustration: Renewable diesel and SAF

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Oils and fats are reacted with hydrogen to strip out oxygen, leaving paraffins identical to fossil diesel; a standard plant turns only 15-20% into jet fuel.

##### Three things to know

1. Sustainable aviation fuel costs about twice as much as fossil jet, and up to five times in markets with mandates.
2. Diamond Green Diesel's two plants hold about 65% of US Gulf Coast renewable diesel capacity.
3. EU defaults put HVO from used cooking oil at 16 g CO2e/MJ, against 73 for palm-oil HVO and 94 for fossil diesel.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Waste fats**Used cooking oil, tallow, corn oil, soy
2. 2 **Pre-treatment**Metals and phosphorus removed to protect catalysts
3. 3 **Hydrotreating**About 3-4% hydrogen strips out the oxygen
4. 4 **Isomerisation**Split into diesel, jet, naphtha and propane
5. 5 **Blending**SAF mixed up to 50% with jet fuel

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Energy overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/energy/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/correlation/index.md)
- [Efficiency](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/efficiency/index.md)
- [Techniques](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/techniques/index.md)
- [Resources and labour](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/resources/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/biosphere/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/overview/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/links/index.md)