Bioenergy research project likely to enter demonstration phase

A bioenergy research project in the UAE, which aims to make biofuels from Salicornia plants, is expected to enter the demonstration phase by 2024.

Alejandro Rios Galvan, Director of the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC) said that the 200-acre demonstration facility would include a 1,000 tons per annum commercial fish farm and produce small quantities of oil that can be turned into synthetic paraffinic kerosene.

For over a decade, Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS), SBRC’s flagship project at Khalifa University, has been studying the commercial viability of producing jet fuel derived from plants grown with salt water in arid regions.

Thousands of hectares of land would be required for the cultivation of Salicornia-based biomass needed to produce significant quantities of SAF.

SEAS expects to produce 75-194 million liters of aviation fuel per year by 2032.