march2021 - 31

AIRPORTS

their kitchen services, the renewable diesel for
ground vehicles and also sustainable aviation
fuel for aircraft.
She explains that waste materials are being
sourced from more than 40,000 airports,
hotels, restaurants and other venues across
the United States.
" Neste can trace all raw materials to their
point of origin, which allows us to ensure all
suppliers meet our sustainability standards, "
Silverberg notes.
The renewable fuel supply chain starts
where the used cooking oil is collected and
for airports, this includes DFW and Chicago
O'Hare International Airport (ORD).
" Airports can transform their waste management challenges into a sustainability and
cost-reduction opportunity, " she explains. " At
DFW, they were able to achieve their climate
goals faster and boost efficiency. "
Customers around the world can use the
fuel made by Neste to immediately replace
fossil fuels, bringing the cycle full circle. In
2018, Silverberg says Neste signed a memorandum of understanding with San Francisco
International Airport (SFO) and a number of
leading airlines to accelerate the use of sustainable aviation fuel.
" Two years later, we made good on this
promise, " she says. " Neste is now providing
a continuous supply of sustainable aviation
fuel to the airport with offtake agreements in
place with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines,
DHL and JetBlue. "
The company also is partnering with the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, increasing its fleet's use of sustainable
transportation fuels for aircraft and ground
vehicles.
The benefits have already been documented. Neste says that over the last five years,
these renewable products have prevented
nearly 40 million tons of CO2 equivalent from
entering the air.

Other Good News
There is a lot of good news in this all for
ground handlers. The process provides zero
disruption to the ground handling crews at
an airport, as sustainable aviation fuel can

function simultaneously in place of traditional
fuel. It requires no special handling, storage
or engines.
" For example, Neste is providing sustainable aviation fuel to San Francisco International Airport using an existing pipeline and
the airport's fuel hydrant system, " Silverberg
says.
While DFW comes up on its two-year
anniversary of working with Neste on cooking oil collection, Russell says that the process
as a whole has been successful and a learning
experience.
One benefit for the concessionaires is the
cost factor.
" There's no cost to them to do this, " he
explains. " They didn't have to buy the caddies or anything. For them, it was simply a
new process, and we had to communicate the
details and educate them on the system. "
Other than some time requirements and
learning curves to overcome, Russell says the
operation has been smooth and, above all, a
great story of making something that worked
well, even better. In 2019, its first year, the five
terminals collectively gathered 30,000 gallons
of cooking oil and in 2020, 25,000 gallons.
" Neste and Mahoney have educated me that
this is really an ideal waste oil for them to use
for their process, " he explains. " It's efficient
and makes a truly drop-in fuel for any piece
of ground support equipment. "
" Any company that wanted to switch to a
renewable fuel, could, and not have to make
any new equipment investment, " Russell adds.
" We continue to look for ways to reduce waste
and are glad this option exists for that reason,
but also has a climate action benefit to it. "

Advice for Air Professionals
Silverberg says airports, airlines and ground
handlers should first set bold climate goals,
then learn from those who are doing well.
" San Francisco International Airport and
DFW have expertise that can make developing
a climate plan much easier, " she adds.
Neste officials say that conservatively:
" The volume of used cooking oil generated by
the largest 25 airports in North America is
9,600,000 pounds per year - enough waste to

generate nearly 1 million gallons of advanced
biofuels and, ultimately, prevent more than
7,831 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from
entering the atmosphere. "
Russell says it is important when working
on projects like this to build a solid stakeholder group at the beginning. The customer
experience team was vital in this specific
project, as they were aware of what was happening in the terminals and specifically, with
concessions.
" They gave us a good understanding of the
challenges the concessions operators were
dealing with, " he explains, and says that
together, the solution was developed which
was good for everyone.
Neste officials say that when using waste
and residue-based raw materials for the
production of sustainable aviation fuels, it
is possible to reduce life-cycle carbon emissions of flying by up to 80 percent. Silverberg encourages airports to think about waste
management challenges as an opportunity to
improve operational efficiency, but also reduce
emissions, as DFW has realized firsthand, and
shared.
For the ground support industry, this
story is a positive one and something many
airlines and ground service companies will
be pursuing in coming years. The trends to
lower emissions and recycled fuel are only
increasing, and the opportunities to be a part
of this are growing as well.
" There are wider benefits for airlines and
communities surrounding airports, " Silverberg concludes. " Increased use of sustainable
aviation fuel also translates to cleaner air for
communities and directly reduces emissions
and pollution from aircraft, enabling airlines
to achieve their climate goals. "
As long as people love their french fries
and flying, the two can go hand-in-hand
in ways many have yet to experience, but is
changing the world for good.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jen Bradley, owner of Bradley Bylines,
is an aviation writer based in Wisconsin.
She may be reached via her website at
www.bradleybylines.com.

MARCH 2021

AviationPros.com

http://www.bradleybylines.com http://www.AviationPros.com

march2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of march2021