CO₂ to sustainable aviation fuel via RWGS and Fischer–Tropsch: A comprehensive review on catalysts, kinetics, and reactor design

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) have become central to aviation decarbonization, given the sector’s reliance on energy-dense, safety-qualified liquid fuels and the limited near-term scope for electrification. Among SAF options, CO₂-derived fuels synthesized from captured CO₂ offer drop-in compatibility and deep lifecycle emissions reductions. This review examines the CO₂-to-jet route based on reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) to syngas, Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis, and upgrading, highlighting how recent advances are refining design priorities. Progress in RWGS catalysis is discussed with emphasis on engineered active sites (metal–support interfaces, vacancy-rich oxides, carbides, and single-atom motifs) that tune CO₂ activation, favor CO over CH₄, and improve tolerance to water and impurities. Developments in FT catalysis are analyzed across cobalt- and iron-based systems, including support effects, chain-growth control toward jet-range hydrocarbons, and the growing interest in bifunctional metal–acid catalysts that couple synthesis with controlled isomerization to enrich middle distillates. The review evaluates durability limits, focusing on sintering, oxidation, coking, and promoter loss under water-rich and load-following operation. Reactor design is considered from heat-flux-limited multitubular and slurry concepts to microstructured and modular intensified reactors that enable near-isothermal operation. Finally, the transition from product slates to certified fuels is addressed by linking upgrading severity to fuel-property constraints, freeze point, density, smoke point, and aromatics limits, under ASTM D7566/D1655, and by assessing system-level trade-offs in recycle, tail-gas handling, hydrogen utilization, and carbon efficiency. Overall, scalable CO₂-derived jet fuel depends on durable selective catalysts, heat-managed reactors, and integrated processes that meet fuel specifications and lifecycle requirements at scale under evolving policy.