Work

Integrated coconut processing for cost-effective sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel production: Focus on medium chain triglycerides by-products

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • MCT by-products integrated for sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel production. • Circular economy enhances economic value of coconut-based biofuel industries. • Indonesia's coconut oil shows promise for biofuel due to favorable composition. • Strategic processing integration boosts renewable energy and rural livelihoods. • Coconut-based SAF significantly reduces aviation's lifecycle carbon emissions. The selection of economical and sustainable feedstocks with valuable coproducts is essential to advancing biofuel production. Coconut oil is a unique feedstock with dual functionality: it provides medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) widely used in cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals, while also serving as a lipid resource for biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This combination highlights its relevance not only for energy transition but also for advancing circular bioeconomy strategies that link health and energy sectors. This paper reviews five decades of coconut oil utilization, focusing on its properties, processing routes, techno-economic aspects, storage stability, and regulatory frameworks. Special attention is given to integrating MCT production with biofuel pathways, an approach that enhances economic resilience by offsetting the relatively higher production costs of coconut-based fuels. Literature shows that although coconut oil volumes are modest compared to palm or soybean oil, its medium-chain profile (C8–C14) is well aligned with kerosene-range hydrocarbons required in aviation fuels. Despite challenges of smallholder-dominated supply chains, price volatility, and limited scale, strategic deployment in regional contexts, coupled with co-product valorization, offers a pathway to improve feasibility. Meeting international sustainability standards and strengthening national policies are also critical to support broader adoption. By reframing coconut oil as both a high-value industrial input and an energy feedstock, this study contributes a novel integrative framework that connects renewable energy with health-oriented industries, thereby enhancing the prospects of coconut oil within sustainable development and circular bioeconomy agendas.

Source: Results in Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2025.108446