Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) is planning to set up a 20 KLPD plant as part of its strategy to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in two years. The company is in the process of securing necessary approvals from its board for the development of the SAF plant.

Subsequently, MRPL will take about two-and-a-half years to build the plant at an estimated cost of around Rs 450 crore. The company has also undertaken a survey with subject matter experts to identify sources for the required quantities of feed for target SAF production.

With this, MRPL intends to support the government’s one percent blending target. SAF refers to waste-derived aviation fuel, which is produced from various sources such as used cooking oil, agricultural waste, fats or non-food crops. It is relying on CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum’s single-step process that converts used cooking oil or palm waste to produce SAF.

CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum has produced more than 14,000 litre of SAF on a pilot basis in Dehradun, and the fuel has been approved for use in Indian Air Force aircraft with a 10 per cent blend since 2021. The process for securing the ASTM International certification is underway. Once approved, the fuel can be used by airlines.