PySAF Ltd · London // Refinery-compatible bio-crude
Refining the
biogenic molecule.
PySAF converts certified lignocellulosic biomass residues into PyXCrude: a stabilised, non-lipid biogenic co-feed designed for FCC co-processing and hydroprocessing / HEFA routes to sustainable aviation fuel.
The barrier
Most teams treat this as a hydroprocessing problem. It is a pyrolysis problem.
Every developer who has run conventional fast pyrolysis bio-oil through a continuous hydrotreater has hit the same wall: plugging, fouling, catalyst deactivation - usually within hours. PyXCrude controls the failure modes upstream, through PySAF's proprietary bio-crude processing platform, so the product is designed to behave like a feed, not a liability.
Water drives phase separation
20 to 30% water in raw bio-oil destabilises the feed and defeats standard refinery feed systems.
Sugars deactivate catalysts
Pyrolytic sugars and anhydrosugars such as levoglucosan accelerate catalyst deactivation in continuous hydrotreaters.
Reactive oxygenates polymerise
Acidic, unstable oxygenates polymerise under heat, plugging and fouling units designed for hydrocarbons.
Metals poison everything downstream
Alkali metals and char fines kill the most expensive consumable in any conversion unit: the catalyst.
Feed to fuel
Where PySAF sits in the chain.
We integrate, we don't disrupt. PySAF does not build pyrolysis plants or refineries - we own the step that connects them.
FeedstockCertified biomass residues
Certified, sustainable lignocellulosic residues sourced through feedstock partners. Non-lipid, so it expands rather than competes with constrained lipid feedstocks.
Fast pyrolysisEstablished technology
Commercial fast pyrolysis converts biomass to bio-oil in seconds. PySAF is technology-agnostic and works with proven pyrolysis suppliers.
PySAF conditioningThe licensed step
Our patent-pending bio-crude processing platform controls the failure modes upstream, stabilising the oil and stripping the contaminants that block refinery acceptance. This is the IP we license.
Refinery insertionFCC & hydroprocessing / HEFA
PyXCrude enters existing refinery infrastructure as a biogenic co-feed, targeting 80 to 90% GHG reduction with no billion-dollar new-build plants.
PyXCrude · Representative analysis
Numbers a refiner can read.
Validated at batch scale, January 2026. Selected properties from internal analysis of PyXCrude versus typical raw fast pyrolysis oil.
Heating value (HHV)
0MJ/kg
vs ~17 MJ/kg typical raw bio-oil
Water content
0wt%
vs 20 to 30% in raw bio-oil
Metals removed
0%
protecting downstream catalyst life
Char fines
Nonedetected
filterable solids eliminated
Offtake routes
One feed, three insertion points.
FCC co-processing
Drop biogenic carbon into the largest installed conversion capacity in refining, with no new-build capex on the refiner's side.
Renewable gasoline & distillateHydroprocessing & HEFA
A low-metals, low-water feed compatible with hydrotreating routes toward SAF-range paraffinic fuels.
Sustainable aviation fuelStaged future markets
Marine fuels and bio-intermediates as staged opportunities, including PyXSugra - a defined co-product stream in Stage 2 development.
Marine & bio-intermediatesDemand is legislated
Mandates, not forecasts.
10% SAF by 2030, rising to 22% by 2040 - with obligated suppliers needing eligible biogenic feeds at scale.
Binding EU blending obligations from 2025, escalating through 2050 across all departing flights.
Global airline offsetting framework driving long-term demand for certified lower-carbon aviation fuel.
Business model
We license. Partners build.
PySAF is asset-light by design. Our value sits in the conditioning IP, the product specification, and the partner network that connects feedstock to refinery gate.
01Technology licensing
Process licences for the PySAF conditioning step, deployed at partner pyrolysis and refining sites.
02Commercialisation
PyXCrude as a defined, tradeable intermediate with a specification refiners can write into supply contracts.
03Project development
Structured programmes with feedstock, pyrolysis, and refining partners to qualify PyXCrude unit by unit.
About PySAF
Not built on a thesis. Built in reactors.
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry with over two decades of hands-on experience delivering end-to-end technology development across sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen production, and advanced energy systems - spanning three continents.
He has personally processed over 20,000 gallons of biocrude, built and operated continuous pyrolysis reactors including a 2 bbl/d continuous unit in a prior role, and translated bench chemistry into refinery-relevant specifications. PySAF is the consolidation of that work into a single, licensable conditioning platform.
"Two decades of knowing what breaks in biocrude - now applied to a refinery-compatible co-feed platform."
Sudhakar M
Lead AI & ML Specialist
25+ years delivering mission-critical software and data systems for multinational corporations. Applies machine learning, GenAI and MLOps to PySAF's platform - predictive models for process performance, asset reliability and product quality.
Professor Jhuma Sadhukhan
Sustainability, TEA & Digital-Twin Advisor · CEng · CSci · FIChemE
World-leading chemical engineer and sustainability scientist at the University of Surrey; co-led UKRI programmes exceeding £60M. Guides PySAF's LCA/LCSA, techno-economics and virtual process design.
Ecosystem
Memberships, networks & partners.
PySAF is embedded in the UK and international cleantech, aviation and bioeconomy ecosystems - working alongside institutions, programmes and operators that accelerate the route from lab to refinery.
Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB)
Member
Oxfordshire Greentech
Member
Cambridge Cleantech
Member
National Climate Tech Accelerator (Barclays × Sustainable Ventures)
Tier 2 Member
Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)
Member
University of Hertfordshire Business Incubator
Cohort 22
SPARK 2.0 - King's Entrepreneurship Lab, Cambridge
Selected Cohort
Join our journey
Building the future of sustainable aviation.
Refiners, pyrolysis operators, feedstock owners, and investors: we run structured evaluation programmes under NDA - from sample analysis to co-processing trials.