Making Progress on Lower Carbon Intensity Fuels
Steve Schram
Facility Manager
Marathon Petroleum
Lower Carbon
Intensity Fuels
We make progress
on fuels
A sustainable future includes reducing the carbon intensity of transportation. That’s why America’s refiners — the companies that manufacture gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, home heating oil, and propane — are investing in the production of renewable fuels that cut emissions without requiring changes to different types of cars or engines.
The Spotlight
Renewable fuels like renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel are chemically similar, or identical, to their petroleum-based counterparts, but are made from organic waste and biomaterials. The result is fuels that have up to 80 percent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.
Reliability through
energy diversity
A more sustainable future will require a mix of energy sources, not a single solution. American fuel refiners are investing in a wide range of lower-carbon technologies.
A more sustainable
energy future
Renewable fuels have lower lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because they are derived from waste products or from sources that absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere during their growth or production. When these fuels are used, the CO2 released is offset by the CO2 the renewable source removed from the air during its lifetime — in many cases this can reduce emissions by more than 80 percent. More on these fuels from the EIA.
Many of these fuels are compatible with existing engines and infrastructure, so users can achieve the win-win of reducing carbon emissions and, in some cases, repurposing and recycling everyday waste.
Renewable Diesel
is made from feedstocks such as vegetable oil and used cooking oil from restaurants. Its current use rate is already reducing carbon emissions by millions of metric tons each year, and refiners are scaling production to reach up to 2 billion barrels of renewable diesel each year. This is the carbon-reduction equivalent of taking over 1 million passenger vehicles off the road.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
is made from renewable and waste sources, such as corn grain, oil seeds, and agricultural residues. SAF has the potential to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent compared with conventional jet fuel.
Renewable Natural Gas
is made from decomposing waste in landfills, livestock emissions, wastewater treatment, and other sources. This clean-burning fuel can be used for electricity generation, or it can be compressed and used to fuel trucks, buses and other heavy transportation. Read more from DOE.