Biofuels Digest Special Report on Aviation Biofuels: Feedstocks

Boeing Commercial Airplanes MD-Environmental Strategy Billy Glover testified to a House of Reprepresentatives panel investigating the potential of biofuels that Boeing has indentified jatropha, camelina and halophytes “in the near term” as strong candidates for aviation biofuels and has targeted algae as a feedstock “in the longer term”, according to a report from Air Transport World.

Babassu palm oil and coconut oil have also been successfully tested in aviation with the successful Virgin Airlines test in early 2008, but were not mentioned in the Boeing remarks, possibly die to food-vs-fuel or deforestation issues surrounding the feedstocks. Halophytes have not yet been flight tested, but salicornia is expected to be the next candidate feedstock tested.

Meanwhile, lifecycle analysis tests on camelina are showing an 80 percent reduction in emissions compared to conventional jet fuels.

Last December, ASTM International finalized a new draft spec for an alternative energy-based jet fuel. The new draft spec, provisionally called DXXXX, will be an alternative to the current D1655 jet fuel specification. The draft spec will be presented for formal adoption by ASTM at its 2009 annual meeting in June, and is intended to create a framework for “drop-in” jet fuels, based on multiple alternative energy sources.

The spec covers “hydroprocessed renewable jet’ (HRJ) fuels” being used in trials by Japan Airlines, Continental, Virgin and Air New Zealand. The spec will also support up to 50 percent blends based on the Fischer-Tropsch process. Meanwhile, the current D1655 spec was modified to support coal-to-liquid fuels produce by SASOL in South Africa.

There is a research effort underway to develop kerosene from natural gas as an alternative aviation fuel. A group of companies including Qatar Airways, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Fuel, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Shell limited and the Qatar Science and Technology Park announced an agreement to jointly conduct a study into opportunities and benefits of synthetic jet fuels, with a focus on natural gas-to-kerosene conversion.

Gas-to-liquid kerosene fuels have similar properties to conventional petroleum-based kerosene and can replace kerosene without significant engine or fuel delivery modifications. The research will examine the potential improvements in emissions, range, engine life and local air quality.

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