Research says rotten tomatoes are the future of jet fuel

The project aims to create a climate-neutral, waste-free, and economically viable process that contributes to reducing fossil fuel dependency in aviation.

Tomatoes are the second most consumed vegetable worldwide after potatoes, and the European Union produces about 17 million tonnes annually.

However, tomato cultivation generates large amounts of residual biomass, including leaves, stems, flowers, peels, seeds, and tomatoes that do not meet quality standards.

Currently, most of these residues are incinerated or disposed of at high costs, representing both an environmental and economic challenge.

Meeting the EU’s climate-neutrality targets and reducing aviation-related CO₂ emissions depends on producing competitive sustainable aviation fuels from renewable raw materials.

ToFuel researchers are investigating two fractionation technologies to convert tomato waste into fuel.

Extrusion involves heating the biomass under pressure and then rapidly dropping the pressure to break it down into cellular components, creating a substrate suitable for fermentation.

During fermentation, microorganisms produce lipids that are later processed into aviation fuel.

The second method, hydrothermal liquefaction, transforms biomass into bio-oil and biochar under high pressure and temperature.

The resulting bio-oil must be purified to remove nitrogen-containing compounds that could hinder conversion into aviation fuel.

Development of these fractionation, biotechnological, and purification processes is a collaboration among Graz University of Technology, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia in Lisbon, and the University of Zagreb.

The ToFuel project highlights a novel approach to turning agricultural waste into renewable energy while addressing environmental and economic challenges in the aviation sector.