Arbok-STEC

Overview

Arbok-STEC is an integrated technology stack that converts organic waste streams (livestock manure, biogas digestate, municipal sewage) into ATJ-grade biospirit (bioethanol or biobutanol), ENplus A1 solid fuel pellets, ammonium sulfate fertilizer, and recovered technical water. The platform combines three field-proven Arbok technologies — BUTANOIL biochemical conversion, AZOW vacuum phase separation, and Arbok-PAT pelletization — into a single modular deployment that operates at the source of feedstock. Arbok-STEC addresses the EU regulatory demand under ReFuelEU Aviation (6% SAF by 2030, 70% by 2050) and RED III (E10+ blending) by activating waste-category feedstock with ILUC = 0 that is not currently mobilized for biofuel production. The output biospirit is supplied as CORSIA-certified raw material to external ATJ technology operators or directly to petrol blenders, chemical industries, and distributed energy markets.

Applications

Primary use cases:

• Aviation biofuel supply — ATJ-grade bioethanol/biobutanol feedstock for SAF production under ASTM D7566 Annex A5

• Automotive biofuel — direct blending with petrol (E10, E85, Bu-16)

• Chemical industry feedstock — solvents, plastics, pharmaceutical substrates

• Distributed regional energy — solid biofuel pellets (ENplus A1) and liquid biospirit for remote generation

Typical scenarios:

• On-farm deployment at livestock operations (pig, cattle, poultry)

• Co-location with biogas plants for digestate processing

• Municipal wastewater treatment facility integration

• Regional waste-to-fuel hubs

Industries and users:

• Aviation fuel operators and SAF producers

• Petroleum refiners under RED III obligation

• Agricultural cooperatives and biogas plant operators

• Municipal utilities

• Strategic investors in renewable energy infrastructure

Scale:

• Single module: 200 m³/day feedstock input

• Regional cluster: 10–100 modules

• National scale: 1 000–5 000 modules

• EU full mandate coverage: ~42 000 modules

Operating Principle

Arbok-STEC operates as a linear four-step process from raw organic waste to market-ready biofuel and solid fuel co-products.

Stage 1 — BUTANOIL (biochemical conversion):

Liquid organic feedstock enters fermentation vessels structured similarly to port petroleum storage tanks. A proprietary microbial consortium converts the substrate over an extended multi-week fermentation cycle. The FermoFuel strain platform selects the target alcohol product — butanol, ethanol, or pentanol — by choosing the appropriate biological agent. Yield: up to 12% target alcohol by volume of input flow. Outputs: purified alcohol distillate + biologically sterilized post-fermentation broth.

Stage 2 — AZOW (vacuum phase separation):

The post-fermentation broth enters a vertical 20-foot tank-container module operating at deep vacuum and ambient temperature. Water evaporates at low pressure; ammonia is captured in an acid scrubber; dry organic matter remains in the chamber. Energy consumption: 1 kWh/t. Outputs: up to 90% technical water (135–180 m³/day per module), DOS (Dry Organic Solids, 8–15 t/day, calorific value 14–20 MJ/kg), ammonium sulfate (40–80 kg/day).

Stage 3 — Arbok-PAT (pelletization):

DOS is pelletized under deep vacuum into ENplus A1 commercial pellets (17–18 MJ/kg, moisture <10%, ash <2%, biologically sterile). With waste-heat recovery integration from co-generation, specific electrical consumption drops to 0,3–0,8 kWh/t. Output price: up to 220 USD/t.

Market interface — ATJ integration:

Biospirit from Stage 1 is supplied as CORSIA-certified ATJ-grade feedstock to external ATJ technology operators for conversion into ATJ-SPK under ASTM D7566 Annex A5 (up to 50% blend with Jet A-1). For automotive markets, the alcohol is sold directly for petrol blending without further conversion.

Key Parameters

| Parameter | Current Industry Model | Arbok-STEC |

|---|---|---|

| Feedstock category (CORSIA) | High-ILUC food crops or limited UCO | Waste-category (ILUC = 0) |

| Feedstock availability (EU) | Capped by UCO collection (~35 Mt HEFA ceiling) | 1,5–2 billion t/year organic waste |

| Per-module throughput | — | 200 m³/day input, ~73 000 m³/year |

| Biospirit yield per module | — | ~360 t/year |

| DOS pellet yield per module | — | 3 000–5 500 t/year |

| Specific energy (full stack) | 50–150 kWh/t (classical refining) | 1–3 kWh/t (0,3–0,8 with WHR) |

| Water recovery | Minimal | Up to 90% (135–180 m³/day) |

| ATJ-SPK blend ceiling | n/a (HEFA reaching limit) | Up to 50% in Jet A-1 (ASTM D7566 A5) |

| Payback per module | n/a | 5–7 years |

| Operating life | n/a | 20 years |

Architecture and Components

Three integrated technology units plus a market interface.

Core components:

• BUTANOIL fermentation vessels (port-tank style, modular capacity)

• Distillation unit (alcohol recovery)

• AZOW 20-foot vertical tank-container vacuum evaporator

• Acid scrubber for ammonia trap

• Arbok-PAT pelletization line

• Process control (PLC/SCADA)

• Optional heat-recovery loop that returns thermal energy to the process

Auxiliary systems:

• Feedstock buffer tanks

• Product storage (liquid alcohol + dry pellets + ammonium sulfate)

• Water return loop

• Site monitoring and remote diagnostics

The architecture supports modular scaling: each site is composed of one or more parallel module trains depending on local feedstock volume. Site footprint: 200–400 m² per train.

Advantages

Technical:

• Three field-proven Arbok components combined into a single material balance

• No catalysts, membranes, or thermal cracking

• Closed water and nitrogen balance (no liquid effluent)

• Biologically sterile solid output

Economic:

• Four independent revenue streams per module (biospirit, pellets, tipping fees, ammonium sulfate + technical water)

• Negative-cost feedstock (tipping fees on input)

• Payback 5–7 years, operating life 20 years

• Anti-cyclical product portfolio across SAF, automotive, chemicals, energy

Environmental:

• ILUC = 0 (CORSIA waste category)

• 60–70 Mt CO₂-equivalent/year captured at full EU deployment

• Eliminates 100–150 thousand ha of EU sludge fields

• Frees 3–4 million ha of arable land currently used for biofuel crops

Strategic:

• Gatekeeper position for waste-derived ATJ feedstock in EU

• Infrastructure model with accumulating rent vs. one-shot commodity sales

• Replaces import dependency on bioethanol and partially on jet kerosene

• Strong alignment with ReFuelEU, RED III, EU Methane Regulation 2024, CORSIA

Integrations

Upstream sources:

• Pig, cattle, poultry farms (manure handling)

• Biogas plants (digestate handling, optional WHR)

• Municipal wastewater treatment facilities

Downstream channels:

• ATJ technology operators — for aviation biofuel

• Petroleum refiners and blenders — for E10, E85, Bu-16

• Chemical industry — solvents, plastics, pharma

• Energy utilities — DOS pellets for thermal and CHP applications

• Agricultural sector — ammonium sulfate fertilizer, DOS as soil amendment

Digital integration:

• SCADA / PLC

• Remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance

• Carbon credit reporting and CORSIA traceability

Deployment & Operation

Implementation:

• Site assessment (feedstock volume, composition, available utilities)

• Module sizing (single train or parallel)

• Installation: 6–10 weeks per module

• Commissioning and certification (CORSIA, ISCC/RSB)

Operating conditions:

• Standard industrial utilities (power, water make-up, acid supply for ammonia trap)

• Indoor or sheltered installation (vertical tank-container plus auxiliary equipment)

• Climate-tolerant (no critical temperature requirements)

Staffing:

• 2–3 operators per shift (full module)

• Centralized remote monitoring possible across multiple sites

Maintenance:

• Periodic pump and seal inspection

• Pellet line consumables (low)

• Acid replenishment for ammonia trap

TRL

Arbok-STEC as integrated platform: TRL 7 (limited by BUTANOIL component).

Component readiness:

• BUTANOIL: TRL 7 (pilot demonstration validated)

• AZOW: industrial implementation in operation

• Arbok-PAT: TRL 9 (field-validated on biogas plants in Greece and Cyprus)

Remaining steps to full TRL 9 for the integrated platform:

• Industrial-scale BUTANOIL deployment

• First integrated reference installation (BUTANOIL + AZOW + PAT on a single site)

• Long-term operational validation (12–18 months)

• CORSIA certification of the integrated supply chain

Market Potential

Target markets:

• EU SAF mandate under ReFuelEU Aviation: 3 Mt SAF/year by 2030, growing to ~35 Mt by 2050

• EU automotive biofuel under RED III: ~9 Mt bioethanol/year for E10 coverage

• Global CORSIA-eligible SAF market post-2030: estimated 40–60 Mt/year demand

• EU agricultural and municipal waste services: avoidance of >€10 billion/year in disposal costs

Addressable EU feedstock pool: 1,5–2 billion t/year of waste-category organic streams, sufficient to support 75–100 Mt/year of biospirit at 5% average conversion — 5–7x the EU mandate ceiling for 2030.

Strategic positioning: Arbok-STEC controls access to a new feedstock class (waste-derived biospirit with ILUC = 0) that no competing platform currently mobilizes at scale.

Typical Project Economics

Per single integrated module:

• CAPEX: ~3–5 million USD

• Annual revenue: 1,5–2,3 million USD (biospirit + pellets + tipping fees + ammonium sulfate + water)

• Annual OPEX: 200–300 thousand USD

• Net annual cashflow after stabilization: 1,2–2 million USD

• Payback: 5–7 years

• Operating life: 20 years

At 25% of EU mandate (10 000–11 000 modules):

• Total CAPEX: 30–50 billion USD (deployed over 5–7 years)

• Annual cashflow after deployment: 12–20 billion USD

• Avoided biofuel imports: 3–4 billion USD/year

• ETS credits: 1,2–1,4 billion EUR/year

• Land asset unlock: ~10 billion EUR (one-time)

At full EU mandate (42 000 modules):

• Total CAPEX: 130–210 billion USD

• Annual direct cashflow: 55–90 billion USD

• ETS credits: 4,8–5,6 billion EUR/year

• Avoided fines (Nitrates Directive, Landfill Directive, EU Methane Regulation): 3–9 billion USD/year

• Fertilizer and water revenue: 1–3 billion EUR/year

• One-time land asset unlock: 35–60 billion EUR

• Regional GDP multiplier (1,5–2x): 60–80 billion USD/year

• Cumulative economic effect for EU over 20 years: 1,5–2,5 trillion USD

Risk Factors

• CORSIA certification timeline for integrated supply chain

• Speed of capital deployment for ~42 000 modules across EU

• External dependence on ATJ-operator capacity for aviation pathway

• Regulatory adjustments to RED III / ReFuelEU during deployment horizon

• Competitive entry by parallel waste-derived biofuel platforms

• Conservative adoption pace in agricultural and municipal sectors

Related Technologies

BUTANOIL (Livestock &amp; Sewage Waste Recycling) · FermoFuel (Hexyl-Pentyl-Butyl Strains) · ARBOK-PAT · Arbok Zero-Organic-Waste (AZOW) · ARBOK MedZWD · ARBOK-NITROCELLULOSE (BIOCELL) · Arbok-Pyrolysis