W.S.G. Isaac Newton

The internship I have conducted was a research job at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. The assignment included investigating a particular pathway to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The research aimed to examine the technological and economic perspectives of the bi-reforming of natural gas and CO2 to produce syngas which was converted in the Fischer-Tropsch process to SAF. I conducted a techno-economic analysis to provide the results. This included the process design simulation with the use of Aspen Hysys as simulation software and the calculation of the capital and operational expenditures (CapEx and OpEx) as well as the minimum fuel selling price of SAF. Overall, I found the topic of the internship very interesting as sustainable fuels is part of the pathway to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector and mitigate climate change. Besides, I have learned more about the challenges regarding lowering greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector. These challenges include safety regulations as well as physical properties of alternative jet fuels which result in a challenging task to decarbonize the aviation sector. I conducted this internship in Australia, which on itself was an experience as it is far away from the Netherlands and thus friends and family, but also taught me more about the culture elsewhere in the world and the beautiful nature in this part of the world.