Petrobras has selected Honeywell UOP’s ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) process technology for a sustainable aviation fuel project at its REPLAN refinery in Paulinia, Sao Paulo state, with a planned capacity of 10,000 barrels per day. The project, subject to final approval, would be the first commercial-scale deployment of the ETJ pathway in Latin America.
The ETJ pathway converts ethanol directly into jet fuel, bypassing the lipid-based feedstocks that constrain HEFA production. Brazil produces more ethanol than any country except the United States, and the majority comes from sugarcane rather than corn, giving the feedstock a lower carbon intensity than most alternatives. A 10,000-bpd SAF facility drawing on domestic Brazilian ethanol supply would occupy a different part of the feedstock map than any existing large-scale SAF project in the Americas.
Honeywell UOP’s ETJ technology was selected to convert ethanol into jet fuel using renewable feedstocks from Brazil’s agricultural sector. The REPLAN refinery in Paulinia is Petrobras’ largest refinery by throughput, providing the infrastructure and logistics network to support a project at this scale.
“Brazil has the scale, feedstock and technology partners needed to become a global powerhouse in sustainable aviation fuel.” — Jose Fernandes, President, Honeywell Latin America
“With Honeywell’s ethanol-to-jet process technology, Petrobras is positioned to deliver low-carbon energy solutions leveraging abundant agricultural byproducts to create fuel, helping meet global demand,” said Ken West, President and CEO of Honeywell Process Technology. Jose Fernandes, President of Honeywell Latin America, said Brazil has “the scale, feedstock and technology partners needed to become a global powerhouse in sustainable aviation fuel.”
The announcement extends a commercial relationship between Petrobras and Honeywell. In 2024, Petrobras licensed Honeywell UOP’s HEFA process technology for SAF and renewable diesel production at its Presidente Bernardes Refinery (RPBC) in Cubatao, using soybean oil and beef tallow as feedstocks. The REPLAN project uses a different pathway and a different feedstock base, effectively building a two-pathway SAF portfolio across separate Brazilian refineries. Both projects remain subject to final approvals before construction commitments are made.
