ARC Bio has completed a pilot showing that forestry waste from Quebec can be turned into a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The company used pyrolysis to convert sawdust and wood chips into bio-oil, then upgraded it into biocrude and processed it in a commercial refinery simulator in San Antonio, Texas. The resulting fuel met blending requirements for SAF made from fats, oils and greases. The pilot ran more than 1,000 hours and produced one barrel of SAF feedstock per day. ARC Bio now plans a commercial unit at Port-Cartier, Quebec, targeting 20 million litres of refined biocrude per year, which could yield 5 to 15 million litres of neat SAF annually. The company aims to reach 120 million litres of bio-oil production capacity across Canada by 2030. The project is backed by Boeing and is positioned as a way to support Canada's forestry industry by creating a market for wood residues. SAF still costs two to five times more than conventional jet fuel, so cost reduction and policy support will determine whether the pathway scales.
