Future Fuels for Jets
10-19-2011, 08:10 PM
#91
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Turning wood into oil, in two simple steps | Reuters
(Reuters) - Efficiency and simplicity have long eluded renewable-fuel researchers, but a Maine scientist has developed a two-step process he says can make oil from the cellulose in wood fiber.
This process, far less complex than competing methods, creates an oil that can be refined into gasoline, jet fuel or diesel and removes nearly all oxygen -- the enemy of fuel efficiency.
"It's unique and it's simple," said Clay Wheeler, the University of Maine chemical engineering professor who discovered the process last year with two undergraduates. "This is important because the more complex the technology, the more expensive it's going to be."
In heavily wooded Maine, logging produces a lot of scrap tree stumps, tops and branches that are unusable for making lumber or paper.
While additional research is needed, if Wheeler's process is ultimately able to be commercially developed, it could help forest-rich states generate their own fuel from that scrap.
For a video on the process, click on: link.reuters.com/vak54s
In the first step of Wheeler's process, wood is bathed in sulfuric acid, isolating the sugars in cellulose and producing an energy-intense organic acid mixture.
That mixture is then heated with calcium hydroxide in a reactor to 450 degrees Celsius (840 Fahrenheit), a step that removes oxygen.
What drips out is a hydrocarbon liquid that chemically mimics crude oil.
For every ton of cellulose processed, Wheeler is able to make about 1.25 barrels of oil equivalent, a unit of energy comparable to the amount of energy produced by burning one barrel of crude oil.
The acids and calcium hydroxide are recycled at the end of the process, cutting costs, he said.
The most expensive part is the wood itself, Wheeler said. At current wood biomass prices, he acknowledged his process is not economically competitive with traditional crude oil refining.
"But we anticipate that the value of the fuel will continue to increase as petroleum becomes more scarce," he said.
The economic viability of the project is a source of concern, said Andrew Soare, an analyst who tracks alternative fuel technologies at Lux Research, a technology advisory firm.
"Further understanding of costs is key to this reaction," Soare said. "I think this process certainly does have a chance to go somewhere."
Paul Bryan, program manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's Biomass Program, said a project's economics are a key factor for any future funding support.
"If the outputs are a lot more valuable than the inputs, that's the first step to success," he said.
The journal Green Chemistry plans to publish a study later this year on Wheeler's process, which does not use catalysts or bacteria as most other alternative fuel methods do.
Wheeler is now studying just what makes his process tick. He accidentally stumbled upon it 11 months ago while trying different reactions with biomass and acids.
He does not know exactly what happens inside the reactor during the second phase, when the oil is actually produced, but he knows what he can make with it.
During a recent tour of his Maine laboratory, Wheeler refined his fuel into gasoline that can be used in existing engines.
"We've had independent laboratories test this, and without any upgrading, it was 82-octane gasoline," Wheeler said.
That is a lower octane rating than you find at gas stations -- most are at least 87 -- but traditional crude oil refining uses several steps to reach that mark.
"We think we can get there," Wheeler said of the higher octane rating.
NEW INNOVATIONS AND PRODUCTS
Even though the United States has 10 percent of the world's forest land, its pulp and paper industry has slowly declined in the past 50 years due to shrinking paper demand.
In August, paper shipments fell 6.4 percent from the same month last year and box production slipped 2.7 percent, according to the American Forest and Paper Association.
Wheeler's process could entice the paper industry to take a second look at Maine, Oregon and other timber-rich states.
"This is the kind of stuff you could do in a pulp and paper mill," Wheeler said. "Paper plants are already used to high temperatures."
University of Maine officials are hoping Wheeler's process creates jobs in a state with a 7.6 percent unemployment rate.
"These mills are the heart of communities in Maine and they need new innovations and products," said Renee Kelly, director of economic development initiatives at the university. "Pulp and paper are very cyclical, commodity businesses."
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and David Fazekas; editing by Andre Grenon)
(Reuters) - Efficiency and simplicity have long eluded renewable-fuel researchers, but a Maine scientist has developed a two-step process he says can make oil from the cellulose in wood fiber.
This process, far less complex than competing methods, creates an oil that can be refined into gasoline, jet fuel or diesel and removes nearly all oxygen -- the enemy of fuel efficiency.
"It's unique and it's simple," said Clay Wheeler, the University of Maine chemical engineering professor who discovered the process last year with two undergraduates. "This is important because the more complex the technology, the more expensive it's going to be."
In heavily wooded Maine, logging produces a lot of scrap tree stumps, tops and branches that are unusable for making lumber or paper.
While additional research is needed, if Wheeler's process is ultimately able to be commercially developed, it could help forest-rich states generate their own fuel from that scrap.
For a video on the process, click on: link.reuters.com/vak54s
In the first step of Wheeler's process, wood is bathed in sulfuric acid, isolating the sugars in cellulose and producing an energy-intense organic acid mixture.
That mixture is then heated with calcium hydroxide in a reactor to 450 degrees Celsius (840 Fahrenheit), a step that removes oxygen.
What drips out is a hydrocarbon liquid that chemically mimics crude oil.
For every ton of cellulose processed, Wheeler is able to make about 1.25 barrels of oil equivalent, a unit of energy comparable to the amount of energy produced by burning one barrel of crude oil.
The acids and calcium hydroxide are recycled at the end of the process, cutting costs, he said.
The most expensive part is the wood itself, Wheeler said. At current wood biomass prices, he acknowledged his process is not economically competitive with traditional crude oil refining.
"But we anticipate that the value of the fuel will continue to increase as petroleum becomes more scarce," he said.
The economic viability of the project is a source of concern, said Andrew Soare, an analyst who tracks alternative fuel technologies at Lux Research, a technology advisory firm.
"Further understanding of costs is key to this reaction," Soare said. "I think this process certainly does have a chance to go somewhere."
Paul Bryan, program manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's Biomass Program, said a project's economics are a key factor for any future funding support.
"If the outputs are a lot more valuable than the inputs, that's the first step to success," he said.
The journal Green Chemistry plans to publish a study later this year on Wheeler's process, which does not use catalysts or bacteria as most other alternative fuel methods do.
Wheeler is now studying just what makes his process tick. He accidentally stumbled upon it 11 months ago while trying different reactions with biomass and acids.
He does not know exactly what happens inside the reactor during the second phase, when the oil is actually produced, but he knows what he can make with it.
During a recent tour of his Maine laboratory, Wheeler refined his fuel into gasoline that can be used in existing engines.
"We've had independent laboratories test this, and without any upgrading, it was 82-octane gasoline," Wheeler said.
That is a lower octane rating than you find at gas stations -- most are at least 87 -- but traditional crude oil refining uses several steps to reach that mark.
"We think we can get there," Wheeler said of the higher octane rating.
NEW INNOVATIONS AND PRODUCTS
Even though the United States has 10 percent of the world's forest land, its pulp and paper industry has slowly declined in the past 50 years due to shrinking paper demand.
In August, paper shipments fell 6.4 percent from the same month last year and box production slipped 2.7 percent, according to the American Forest and Paper Association.
Wheeler's process could entice the paper industry to take a second look at Maine, Oregon and other timber-rich states.
"This is the kind of stuff you could do in a pulp and paper mill," Wheeler said. "Paper plants are already used to high temperatures."
University of Maine officials are hoping Wheeler's process creates jobs in a state with a 7.6 percent unemployment rate.
"These mills are the heart of communities in Maine and they need new innovations and products," said Renee Kelly, director of economic development initiatives at the university. "Pulp and paper are very cyclical, commodity businesses."
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and David Fazekas; editing by Andre Grenon)
10-24-2011, 10:53 AM
#92
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Skeptics Question Airline Biofuels
(10/21/11, R. Wall, AviationWeek) When it comes to operating airliners with a biofuel blend, it is becoming difficult to find a name-brand airline that has not conducted a demonstration flight. The problem is, it may all be for naught. Air France recently completed a trial, as have Lufthansa, KLM, Iberia and a raft of others. All tout the carbon dioxide savings these flights—or in some cases longer-running trials—are achieving. But the air transport industry may be deluding itself if it believes biofuels are the panacea for carbon footprint reduction, at least for this decade and possibly beyond. High fuel costs as well as competing demand make it unlikely that biojet will deliver the promised carbon dioxide reductions within a desired timeframe. Already, road transport’s demand for biodiesel is growing so rapidly that it is not clear where the supply will come from to meet 2020 targets, says John Cooper, director of transport policy at BP. Availability of sufficient feedstock is “a major concern,” he notes.
What is more, many biofuels have a carbon footprint that is not much better than fossil fuels and, with regulators looking to impose an indirect land-use charge to account for the fact that food is not produced, the prospects for biojet are dimmed further. Cooper fears that vegetable oil-based biojet is likely “a blind alley.” Fuels from waste products are more attractive, he says, but much of the work to commercialize those is not far enough advanced. With biojet costs about double what airlines pay for kerosene, it makes more sense for carriers to simply purchase carbon credits in an emissions trading system (ETS)than spending money on biojet. At current prices, biojet use would equate to more than €300 ($410) per metric ton of carbon, far above the ETS market rate, which is currently below €12. Airlines are still betting on biofuel, though, in part to burnish their “green” credentials. Efforts are under way in Europe to address the issue, principally the European Commission-backed biofuels flightpath that has as its goal production of 2 million tons of sustainable biofuel by 2020.
However, there is some doubt that the cost curve can change significantly. In the case of many technologies it is difficult to see how costs will come down, Cooper says. If airlines are serious about achieving carbon-neutral growth by 2020, it is all the more troubling, then, that their involvement in the European Union’s emissions trading system is so precarious. The EU’s decision to include all airlines that land in or depart from member states is not just garnering increasing vocal opposition from outsiders, but threatens to become a nasty international battle. European airlines, despite their misgivings about elements of the ETS, would not want to see its total demise, because if this attempt at a cap-and-trade system fails it might be replaced with more draconian measures, such as additional taxes, warns British Airways’ head of environmental affairs, Jonathan Counsell. “By taking too big a first step, it is taking us backward,” he says...
Boeing, Embraer Form Biofuel Joint Venture.
Reuters (10/27, Ewing) reports Boeing and Embraer have agreed to work together on a biofuels joint venture to determine the best way to expand the use of biofuel from sugar. According to the article, because the companies are leaders in the plane market, the venture shows how interested commercial airlines are in biofuels...
Will producers scale, or fail?
(Biofuelsdigest, 11/7) In recent weeks, aviation biofuel enthusiasts have noted the commencement of biofuels-powered commercial flights in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Mexico, and asked when the US-developed technology would finally operate on a commercial basis in the US. Alaska Airlines stepped up to answer the call in partnership with Dynamic Fuels, only to find that United has teamed up with Solazyme to snatch the prize for first flight. This morning in Texas, United Airlines will operate the first U.S. commercial flight powered by advanced biofuel, utilizing Solazyme Solajet fuel, on Monday, November 7. UA Flight 1403 will depart from United’s hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport (the heart of big oil) and fly to the airline’s hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The aircraft is a United Boeing 737-800 Eco-Skies aircraft, and Continental pilots will be at the helm. The flight departs Bush at 10:25 am CT from terminal C, and lands at Chicago O’Hare at 1:01pm CT, typically arriving at United’s Terminal 1. The fuel, produced by Solazyme, is a 40/60 blend of sustainable biofuel and traditional petroleum-derived jet fuel. Solazyme’s renewable oils were upgraded into Solafuel by Honeywell’s UOP...
(10/21/11, R. Wall, AviationWeek) When it comes to operating airliners with a biofuel blend, it is becoming difficult to find a name-brand airline that has not conducted a demonstration flight. The problem is, it may all be for naught. Air France recently completed a trial, as have Lufthansa, KLM, Iberia and a raft of others. All tout the carbon dioxide savings these flights—or in some cases longer-running trials—are achieving. But the air transport industry may be deluding itself if it believes biofuels are the panacea for carbon footprint reduction, at least for this decade and possibly beyond. High fuel costs as well as competing demand make it unlikely that biojet will deliver the promised carbon dioxide reductions within a desired timeframe. Already, road transport’s demand for biodiesel is growing so rapidly that it is not clear where the supply will come from to meet 2020 targets, says John Cooper, director of transport policy at BP. Availability of sufficient feedstock is “a major concern,” he notes.
What is more, many biofuels have a carbon footprint that is not much better than fossil fuels and, with regulators looking to impose an indirect land-use charge to account for the fact that food is not produced, the prospects for biojet are dimmed further. Cooper fears that vegetable oil-based biojet is likely “a blind alley.” Fuels from waste products are more attractive, he says, but much of the work to commercialize those is not far enough advanced. With biojet costs about double what airlines pay for kerosene, it makes more sense for carriers to simply purchase carbon credits in an emissions trading system (ETS)than spending money on biojet. At current prices, biojet use would equate to more than €300 ($410) per metric ton of carbon, far above the ETS market rate, which is currently below €12. Airlines are still betting on biofuel, though, in part to burnish their “green” credentials. Efforts are under way in Europe to address the issue, principally the European Commission-backed biofuels flightpath that has as its goal production of 2 million tons of sustainable biofuel by 2020.
However, there is some doubt that the cost curve can change significantly. In the case of many technologies it is difficult to see how costs will come down, Cooper says. If airlines are serious about achieving carbon-neutral growth by 2020, it is all the more troubling, then, that their involvement in the European Union’s emissions trading system is so precarious. The EU’s decision to include all airlines that land in or depart from member states is not just garnering increasing vocal opposition from outsiders, but threatens to become a nasty international battle. European airlines, despite their misgivings about elements of the ETS, would not want to see its total demise, because if this attempt at a cap-and-trade system fails it might be replaced with more draconian measures, such as additional taxes, warns British Airways’ head of environmental affairs, Jonathan Counsell. “By taking too big a first step, it is taking us backward,” he says...
Boeing, Embraer Form Biofuel Joint Venture.
Reuters (10/27, Ewing) reports Boeing and Embraer have agreed to work together on a biofuels joint venture to determine the best way to expand the use of biofuel from sugar. According to the article, because the companies are leaders in the plane market, the venture shows how interested commercial airlines are in biofuels...
Will producers scale, or fail?
(Biofuelsdigest, 11/7) In recent weeks, aviation biofuel enthusiasts have noted the commencement of biofuels-powered commercial flights in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Mexico, and asked when the US-developed technology would finally operate on a commercial basis in the US. Alaska Airlines stepped up to answer the call in partnership with Dynamic Fuels, only to find that United has teamed up with Solazyme to snatch the prize for first flight. This morning in Texas, United Airlines will operate the first U.S. commercial flight powered by advanced biofuel, utilizing Solazyme Solajet fuel, on Monday, November 7. UA Flight 1403 will depart from United’s hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport (the heart of big oil) and fly to the airline’s hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The aircraft is a United Boeing 737-800 Eco-Skies aircraft, and Continental pilots will be at the helm. The flight departs Bush at 10:25 am CT from terminal C, and lands at Chicago O’Hare at 1:01pm CT, typically arriving at United’s Terminal 1. The fuel, produced by Solazyme, is a 40/60 blend of sustainable biofuel and traditional petroleum-derived jet fuel. Solazyme’s renewable oils were upgraded into Solafuel by Honeywell’s UOP...
Last edited by Cubdriver; 11-07-2011 at 11:16 AM. Reason: more and more clips
11-08-2011, 08:34 AM
#93
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United begins algae-based biofuel use
Algae helps power flight to Chicago
(J. Moreno, HoustonChronicle, 11/7) Airplane fueler Monte Hawkins filled the tank in the wing of a United Continental Holdings jet Monday morning with fuel derived partly from algae as the plane prepared to take off into history.The Boeing 737-800's flight from Houston was the first by a U.S. carrier to include passengers on a plane powered by a blend that included algae-based biofuel along with conventional petroleum-based jet fuel.The flight left Bush Intercontinental Airport bound for Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Chicago is the headquarters of Continental parent United Continental Holdings. United Continental Holdings estimates that the biofuel blend on the flight Monday reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to what would come from the exhaust of a car driven 30,000 miles...
Alaska Airlines Begins Biofuel Flights.
The Seattle (WA) Times (11/9, Gates) reports, "Alaska Airlines begins an expensive trial of biofuel-powered passenger flights Wednesday, billing the 75 trips as a pioneering effort to 'fly cleaner' and to kick-start a nascent renewable-energy economy." According to the article, it is "part of a worldwide push by airlines" to deal with climate change issues despite the fact that biofuels burn as much as conventional fuels. However, these are "greener" since the emissions come from renewable sources, a claim the article notes is "not self-evident." Meanwhile, "the appeal of biofuels...is driven by relentless pressure from environmentalists."
Recent Flights Show Demand For Biofuels.
Aviation Week and Space Technology (11/14, Warwick) reported on recent biofuel flights by airlines, which "are intended to show producers there is demand for biofuel, and they come as negotiations are at a critical stage between feedstock providers, fuel producers and private investors to scale up bio-jet production to commercial quantities." According to the article, it is "crucial" to these airlines to use biofuels that are not foodstocks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "The US Department of Agriculture [USDA] is working with the Department of Energy and the Navy to put together a package to commercialize drop-in biofuels" with a "focus" on how to develop "biorefineries." In order to reach the needed production levels, the article notes "the key next step will be signing large-scale, long-term fuel offtake agreements that will enable producers to secure investment to scale up production."
(J. Moreno, HoustonChronicle, 11/7) Airplane fueler Monte Hawkins filled the tank in the wing of a United Continental Holdings jet Monday morning with fuel derived partly from algae as the plane prepared to take off into history.The Boeing 737-800's flight from Houston was the first by a U.S. carrier to include passengers on a plane powered by a blend that included algae-based biofuel along with conventional petroleum-based jet fuel.The flight left Bush Intercontinental Airport bound for Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Chicago is the headquarters of Continental parent United Continental Holdings. United Continental Holdings estimates that the biofuel blend on the flight Monday reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to what would come from the exhaust of a car driven 30,000 miles...
Alaska Airlines Begins Biofuel Flights.
The Seattle (WA) Times (11/9, Gates) reports, "Alaska Airlines begins an expensive trial of biofuel-powered passenger flights Wednesday, billing the 75 trips as a pioneering effort to 'fly cleaner' and to kick-start a nascent renewable-energy economy." According to the article, it is "part of a worldwide push by airlines" to deal with climate change issues despite the fact that biofuels burn as much as conventional fuels. However, these are "greener" since the emissions come from renewable sources, a claim the article notes is "not self-evident." Meanwhile, "the appeal of biofuels...is driven by relentless pressure from environmentalists."
Recent Flights Show Demand For Biofuels.
Aviation Week and Space Technology (11/14, Warwick) reported on recent biofuel flights by airlines, which "are intended to show producers there is demand for biofuel, and they come as negotiations are at a critical stage between feedstock providers, fuel producers and private investors to scale up bio-jet production to commercial quantities." According to the article, it is "crucial" to these airlines to use biofuels that are not foodstocks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "The US Department of Agriculture [USDA] is working with the Department of Energy and the Navy to put together a package to commercialize drop-in biofuels" with a "focus" on how to develop "biorefineries." In order to reach the needed production levels, the article notes "the key next step will be signing large-scale, long-term fuel offtake agreements that will enable producers to secure investment to scale up production."
Last edited by Cubdriver; 11-15-2011 at 03:50 AM.
11-16-2011, 11:46 AM
#94
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An early attempt at algae biofuel mass production...
Sapphire secures USDA loan guarantee for NM algae demo facility
(E. Voegele, BioDiesel, 11/15) The USDA announced this month that it had issued a loan guarantee to Sapphire Energy Inc. The guarantee will support the development of Sapphire Energy’s demonstration-scale algae production facility in New Mexico, which will produce “green crude” oil from algae that can be refined into transportation fuel. “The Obama Administration is committed to providing support for renewable energy production, which will safeguard national security and create jobs in rural America,” said Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This project represents another step in the effort to assist the nation's advanced biofuel industry produce energy in commercial quantities from sustainable rural resources.” Sapphire Energy is constructing a $135 million integrated algal biorefinery (IABR) in Columbus, N.M. According to the USDA, the IABR will be capable of producing 100 barrels of refined algal oil per day, equivalent to at least 1 million gallons per year. The oil will be shipped to the Gulf Coast, where it will be refined into drop-in biofuels by Geismar, La.-based Dynamic Fuels. According to Tim Zenk, Sapphire Energy’s vice president of corporate affairs, his company has been working to finalize the loan guarantee since late 2009. The $135 million project is under development using a $50 million federal grant, the recently finalized $54.5 million loan guarantee and $30 million matching funds contributed by Sapphire Energy. Construction on the first phase of the project began in June, Zenk said. “The project will be built in three distinct phases,” he said. The first portion of the project will include 100 acres of algae cultivation. “We’ll do everything from cultivation to harvest and extraction,” Zenk said. “Then the oil will be refined in a typical refinery into diesel and jet fuel. At full capacity, once all three phases are built over the next three years, we’ll be producing a million gallons of jet and a million gallons of diesel per year.” The final stage of the project is scheduled to be operational by 2015.
Sapphire secures USDA loan guarantee for NM algae demo facility
(E. Voegele, BioDiesel, 11/15) The USDA announced this month that it had issued a loan guarantee to Sapphire Energy Inc. The guarantee will support the development of Sapphire Energy’s demonstration-scale algae production facility in New Mexico, which will produce “green crude” oil from algae that can be refined into transportation fuel. “The Obama Administration is committed to providing support for renewable energy production, which will safeguard national security and create jobs in rural America,” said Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This project represents another step in the effort to assist the nation's advanced biofuel industry produce energy in commercial quantities from sustainable rural resources.” Sapphire Energy is constructing a $135 million integrated algal biorefinery (IABR) in Columbus, N.M. According to the USDA, the IABR will be capable of producing 100 barrels of refined algal oil per day, equivalent to at least 1 million gallons per year. The oil will be shipped to the Gulf Coast, where it will be refined into drop-in biofuels by Geismar, La.-based Dynamic Fuels. According to Tim Zenk, Sapphire Energy’s vice president of corporate affairs, his company has been working to finalize the loan guarantee since late 2009. The $135 million project is under development using a $50 million federal grant, the recently finalized $54.5 million loan guarantee and $30 million matching funds contributed by Sapphire Energy. Construction on the first phase of the project began in June, Zenk said. “The project will be built in three distinct phases,” he said. The first portion of the project will include 100 acres of algae cultivation. “We’ll do everything from cultivation to harvest and extraction,” Zenk said. “Then the oil will be refined in a typical refinery into diesel and jet fuel. At full capacity, once all three phases are built over the next three years, we’ll be producing a million gallons of jet and a million gallons of diesel per year.” The final stage of the project is scheduled to be operational by 2015.
11-16-2011, 11:29 PM
#95
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Originally Posted by Cubdriver
... the IABR will be capable of producing 100 barrels of refined algal oil per day, equivalent to at least 1 million gallons per year. ..... The first portion of the project will include 100 acres of algae cultivation.
11-17-2011, 04:25 AM
#96
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Originally Posted by TonyWilliams
Ok, how many acres does it take to replace ALL jet fuel ?
1. ATA: US airlines and cargo ops consume 17.5 billion gallons of Jet A per year.
2. Sapphire says it can produce 1 million gallons of Jet A at its 3 phase plant, and the first phase covers 100 acres. Taking a "WAG" at the size of the three plants together, say 300 acres. So 1M gallons Jet A per 300 acres per year.
3. (17.5e9 Gal/ year) * (year/1e6 Gal) * 300 acres = 5.2e6 acres of land, or 5125 square miles, or roughly the entire state of Connecticut.
Size of US States
My guess is the plants have to be in the sunbelt, and maybe it would be practical to use SW desert. I would also venture a guess they can't be packed into a single contiguous piece of land, but even if the figure doubles it sounds feasible from a land use standpoint.
12-05-2011, 06:41 AM
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FAA Awards Funds For Alternative Jet Fuels.
AVstop (12/4, Douglas) reported that the FAA will award $7.7 million to eight companies "to help advance alternative, environmentally-friendly, sustainable sources for commercial jet fuel." According to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, "these new green aviation fuels will use energy sources right here at home," and he added "this type of innovation will create good-paying jobs in the airline and energy industries and help protect the environment at the same time." The Department of Transportation's John A. Volpe Center will distribute the funds to the eight companies who will help the FAA to "develop and approve alternative, sustainably-sourced 'drop-in' jet fuels that can be used without changing aircraft engine systems or airport fueling infrastructure."
U.S. Navy, USDA make largest federal purchase of biofuels.
(12/6, FoxNews) The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed an agreement to purchase 450,000 gallons of biofuel derived from nonfood sources. The fuel will power aircraft and ships as part of an initiative to promote biofuels. The purchase at $16 per gallon marks the largest federal purchase of biofuels to date.
AVstop (12/4, Douglas) reported that the FAA will award $7.7 million to eight companies "to help advance alternative, environmentally-friendly, sustainable sources for commercial jet fuel." According to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, "these new green aviation fuels will use energy sources right here at home," and he added "this type of innovation will create good-paying jobs in the airline and energy industries and help protect the environment at the same time." The Department of Transportation's John A. Volpe Center will distribute the funds to the eight companies who will help the FAA to "develop and approve alternative, sustainably-sourced 'drop-in' jet fuels that can be used without changing aircraft engine systems or airport fueling infrastructure."
U.S. Navy, USDA make largest federal purchase of biofuels.
(12/6, FoxNews) The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed an agreement to purchase 450,000 gallons of biofuel derived from nonfood sources. The fuel will power aircraft and ships as part of an initiative to promote biofuels. The purchase at $16 per gallon marks the largest federal purchase of biofuels to date.
Last edited by Cubdriver; 12-06-2011 at 11:56 AM.
12-14-2011, 04:45 AM
#98
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Originally Posted by Cubdriver
FAA Awards Funds For Alternative Jet Fuels.
U.S. Navy, USDA make largest federal purchase of biofuels.
(12/6, FoxNews) The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed an agreement to purchase 450,000 gallons of biofuel derived from nonfood sources. The fuel will power aircraft and ships as part of an initiative to promote biofuels. The purchase at $16 per gallon marks the largest federal purchase of biofuels to date.
U.S. Navy, USDA make largest federal purchase of biofuels.
(12/6, FoxNews) The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed an agreement to purchase 450,000 gallons of biofuel derived from nonfood sources. The fuel will power aircraft and ships as part of an initiative to promote biofuels. The purchase at $16 per gallon marks the largest federal purchase of biofuels to date.
I found out why, it makes for an interesting story.
It turns out that the real price was a little under $150 per gallon so far.
Last edited by jungle; 12-14-2011 at 06:07 AM.
12-14-2011, 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Fred Flintstone
No worries, they will make up the difference on volume! 
We are indeed doomed to repeat that which we do not study.
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