Scientists have already discovered a way to make better jet biofuel from soybean oil
Senators have reintroduced a bill designed to ramp up production and development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The bipartisan Farm to Fly Act would use existing USDA programs to support SAF development, clarify a federal definition of SAF, and promote collaboration between the USDA and the private sector.
Senators believe this piece of legislation benefits multiple areas of the U.S. economy.
“Sustainable aviation fuel is a promising alternative fuel source that can provide new markets for farmers while increasing our domestic energy production and security,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said in a statement. “This legislation would increase the accessibility of biofuels for commercial use and directly support rural America and its farmers, the agriculture industry and the aviation sector.”
The other senators supporting the bill are Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
The ag, aviation, and renewable fuels industries are also on board with the Farm to Fly Act.
Alison Grabb, the executive director of the SAF Coalition for example, says the bill strengthens the energy sector, and harnesses the full power of American agriculture.
And Airlines for America supports the bill because it promotes SAF, American agriculture, and job creation.
Multiple crops can be used to create SAF.
Ethanol from corn, for example, can be converted to SAF using a process called ethanol-to-jet.
This removes “the oxygen and linking the molecules together to get the desired carbon chain length,” SkyNRG says.
The aviation industry can also use soybeans for SAF.
In 2021, for example, scientists developed a way to make a better jet fuel from soybean oil.
Compared to traditional fuel, SAF has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 percent, the Department of Energy says.
Aviation companies have already been conducting flights with SAF.
In 2021, United Airlines staff flew 115 people on a Boeing 737 MAX8 jet from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Ill., to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., a distance of about 720 miles, using 100 percent SAF.
In 2023, Virgin Atlantic Flight100 flew from London Heathrow to New York JFK, about 3,440 miles, using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
And in 2024, Delta flew from Minneapolis St. Paul to New York with a fuel blend including 32 percent of SAF, which came from camelina.