An analytical development of supply-chain resilience for UK waste-based SAF feedstocks with a focus on achieving a circular economy

The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply-chain faces challenges related to feedstock availability, environmental impact, and complex decision-making, requiring the identification of viable feedstocks, sustainable production pathways, and a structured framework to balance multidisciplinary criteria. This paper presents a prospective SAF feasibility study, based on UK feedstock availability, revealing that biodegradable municipal solid waste (BMSW) is the most viable. Cereal residues, although the second-most abundant, face predictability challenges, necessitating further study of their current uses and the development of new supply-chains. Fats, oils, and greases (FOGs), waste wood, and sewage sludge have minimal availability. A cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessment of BMSW, waste straw, waste wood, and FOGs use in SAF production confirmed at least a 90% global warming potential reduction compared to fossil jet fuel, aligning with existing literature. Three multicriteria decision analysis methods with four weighting schemes were applied to evaluate the SAF production pathways across 26 multidisciplinary criteria. MSW ranked highest, straw and waste wood achieved similar scores, and FOGs consistently ranked lowest. Together, these methodologies form an integrated framework for evaluating supply-chain resilience, sustainability, and decision-maker preferences to address multiple objectives.