Paper sludge, a solid waste from paper mills, is a promising feedstock for producing sustainable bioproducts and decarbonizing the pulp and paper industry. This study developed a life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to explore the environmental and economic feasibility of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from paper sludge with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The analysis is integrated with full-scale process design and rigorous simulation models developed in Aspen Plus. Our results show that, with CCS, the global warming potential (GWP) of SAF reaches negative carbon at –166. 4 to –108. 7 g CO 2 eq/MJ with a minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of 8. 0–10. 0/gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE). Without CCS, the GWP increases to 38. 8–71. 6 g CO 2 eq/MJ, but the MFSP decreases to 5. 2–7. 0/GGE. SAF production from paper sludge with CCS offers a potential solution to advance the decarbonization of the aviation sector and pulp and paper industries toward net-zero emissions.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.