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