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Aviation glossary

SAF

Sustainable Aviation Fuel · Also: sustainable aviation fuel, biojet, aviation biofuel

Engines

Jet fuel made from renewable or waste sources that can be blended with conventional kerosene and reduces carbon dioxide emissions over its life cycle.

What it is

SAF is produced from used cooking oil, animal fats, agricultural or forestry waste, or by combining green hydrogen with captured CO2 to make synthetic fuels, known as e-fuels. Chemically it is very close to kerosene, so it can be blended with it and used in existing aircraft and airport fuel systems without modification. Current specifications allow blends of up to 50 per cent.

It does not eliminate engine emissions, since the engine still burns hydrocarbons, but the carbon released was absorbed earlier by growing plants or comes from waste. Depending on the feedstock and process, life-cycle CO2 savings can reach 80 per cent or more compared with fossil fuel.

The main obstacles are cost and limited production: SAF still accounts for a very small fraction of the fuel aviation uses. In the European Union, the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation requires suppliers to blend in rising percentages from 2025.

Related terms

Jet fuelPetroleum-based fuel used by the turbine engines of civil aircraft; the most common grades are Jet A-1 and, in the United States, Jet A. Specific fuel consumptionAmount of fuel an engine burns for each unit of thrust or power it produces over a given time; the standard measure of engine efficiency. CombustorSection of a turbine engine where compressed air is mixed with fuel and burnt continuously, producing the hot gases that drive the turbine. TurbofanJet engine in which a large front fan drives air around the core, producing most of the thrust with greater efficiency and less noise.
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). SAF. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf

MLA

“SAF.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “SAF.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) SAF. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_saf,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{SAF}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/saf |title=SAF |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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