Purdue to Open Biofuel Research Facility

(12/10/09 Flying Magazine e-newsletter) Late next year or early in 2011, the National Test Facility for Fuels and Propulsion is scheduled to open at Purdue University. Funded by a $1.35 million Air Force grant, the facility will be located at the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building at Purdue Airport in Indiana. Its focus will be on testing aircraft engine and airframe components for biofuel sustainability and emissions, as well as deriving data on economics of operation. Most of the work will involve turbine engines, though some of the research will involve piston engines as well, according to Purdue.

US Gives $100 Million In Jet Biofuel Grants.

Air Transport Intelligence News (12/11, Kuhn) reported four alternative jet fuel biorefinery projects will receive $100 million in grant money from the US Energy Department. UOP, Sapphire Energy, Elevance Renewable Sciences, and ClearFuel Technology will use their grants to "validate refining technologies and help lay the foundation for full commercial-scale development of a biomass industry in the United States." Each of the companies will focus on a different aspect of alternative biofuel production.

Fourteen Airlines On Board To Use Alternate Fuel.

The AP (12/15) reported Seattle-based AltAir Fuels has secured agreements with 14 airlines to purchase an alternative fuel derived from the oil of camelina plant seeds. AltAir said it will blend camelina oils from Sustainable Oils and blend them with petroleum-based jet fuel and diesel at the Tesoro refinery at Anacortes. This new mixture could replace 10 percent of the petroleum fuel used each year at Sea-Tac Airport. Production is expected to begin in 2012.

biofuel turbines
 

P&W Begins GTF Core Testing.

Air Transport Intelligence News (12/21, Ranson) reported Pratt & Whitney have begun testing on its PurePower geared turbofan, which will power the Bombardier CSeries, Irkut MS-21, and Mitsubishi Regional Jet aircrafts. Pratt & Whitney Canada VP Dan Breitman stated ""This successful first run of the PurePower engine core marks a major step toward bringing an all-new, next generation engine to market." The company previously stated the engine should enter service by 2013.

AltAir Intends To Build Biofuel Plants in 2010.

The Wall Street Journal (12/23, B2B, Stein, subscription required)) reports AltAir Fuels LLC will look to sign up investors in 2010 to help build biofuel plants. AltAir may also apply for a loan from the US Department of Energy in order to build its plants that will utilize camelina plants to create biofuels. Because 14 airlines have already reached an agreement to use this fuel in their aircraft, AltAir CEO Tom Todaro notes this makes them different than previous biodiesel producers.

Toyota Affiliate Looks To Jatropha As Alternative Fuel.

Bloomberg News (12/30, Rial) reports Toyota Tsusho Corp, the trading affiliate of Toyota Motor Corp., will begin growing jatropha next year as the company sees the plant as a "profitable alternative fuel." Jatropha, a plant found in subtropical countries that "isn't edible and can grow in arid lands unsuitable for farming" has already been successfully used in a Boeing 747 flight last year, and with Toyota Tsusho's investment in Singapore-based seed researcher JOIL(S) Pte. and rising oil prices worldwide, project manager Makoto Hattori believes that by "dramatically increasing the plant's yield," it can make the plant economically viable. The company is currently in negotiations with a Philippine banana plantation to grow the plant.

Biofuels would be great if it ends up working the way as everyone is hoping. Just wonder what the cost analysis breakdown on that would be compared to oil. That is including the engine wear and life intervals and other such maintenance related costs.




Sure is promising nonetheless

I am sure studies have been done on how much it takes to produce a gallon of biofuel with consideration to source material, the scale of production, location, weather, level of certification, and a number of other variables. You're welcome to post such data if you find it and I'll make an attempt to do the same. The accurate final cost of producing synthetics and biofuels cannot be known until large-scale production has been attempted, which so far it hasn't. Another relevant fact to consider is that even knowing some number for the cost per gallon of a particular formulation, much of the market value is dependent upon traditional petroleum production in the world. The latter is a daunting problem full of politics, industry-muddled science, volatile markets and other variables.

As for the engines themselves, it has been said that a turbine can burn anything owing to the wide range of activation energy a turbine can produce. The problem is in the supporting systems like fuel lines, tanks, pumps, valves, switches, filters and so forth, they may not be able to reliably use a particular formation due to problems with viscosity, corrosion, expansion, and volatility. It is known that some existing jet aircraft turbines cannot sustain the reliable use of certain synthetic and biofuel formulations. This is the driving reason for all the testing we are seeing these days. In some cases older designs are being found compatible with biofuel while other manufacturers have opted to develop clean sheet designs such as the Pratt & Whitney PW1000 mentioned earlier. The latter was intended from inception to be compatible (and reliable) burning a wide array of chemical formulations. It is expensive work to develop a new turbine for aircraft use, and at this point it represents an unknown in the cost of renewable fuel adoption for commercial and military air travel.

Qatar Airways, Other Firms Target Green Jet Fuel.

The AP (1/10) reports, "Qatar Airways and other state companies in [United Arab Emirates] say they are targeting the development of alternative jet fuel." Quatar Airways announced Sunday that it would "work with Qatar Petroleum, the Qatar Science & Technology Park and plane maker Airbus to study biofuel strategies with the aim of producing 'sustainable bio jet fuel' that could initially be used by the national airline. ... The companies did not provide a timeframe or details of their financial commitment to the project."

Boeing Planning Ways To Install New 737 Engine.

Flight International (2/4, Ostrower) reported, "Amid increasing industry speculation about the imminent launch of re-engined narrowbodies, Flightglobal has learned how Boeing could engineer the tricky installation of an advanced turbofan under the wing of the 737." Boeing could extend the nose's landing gear to give "additional clearance" for a new engine. That could "yield an approximate 12% improvement in specific fuel consumption, before any other airframe modifications are incorporated says the assessment." Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, "recently confirmed to Flightglobal that Boeing had completed a successful technical feasibility study into the installation of a new engine on the 737, but that the modification would require 'a lot of work.'"

Algae to solve the Pentagon's jet fuel problem
US scientists believe they will soon be able to use algae to produce biofuel for the same cost as fossil fuels

Guardian 2/13/2010 The brains trust of the Pentagon says it is just months away from producing a jet fuel from algae for the same cost as its fossil-fuel equivalent. The claim, which comes from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) that helped to develop the internet and satellite navigation systems, has taken industry insiders by surprise. A cheap, low-carbon fuel would not only help the US military, the nation's single largest consumer of energy, to wean itself off its oil addiction, but would also hold the promise of low-carbon driving and flying for all. Darpa's research projects have already extracted oil from algal ponds at a cost of $2 per gallon. It is now on track to begin large-scale refining of that oil into jet fuel, at a cost of less than $3 a gallon, according to Barbara McQuiston, special assistant for energy at Darpa. That could turn a promising technology into a *market-ready one. Researchers have cracked the problem of turning pond scum and seaweed into fuel, but finding a cost-effective method of mass production could be a game-changer. "Everyone is well aware that a lot of things were started in the military," McQuiston said.

Complete article at Guardian website.

Hi!

That's the same article that I also found today...put it in it's own post.

QUITE interesting, and I had no idea that DARPA was this far along on biofuel!!! They are talking $1/gallon!

cliff
NBO

Yes, I got it from your earlier post. It seems to have been missed by my normal industry news reports. As far as what it indicates politically or otherwise, I really don't take a side on the biofuel debate. If it's cheap and lasts a long time, then great. Rather, I started this thread because every so many months someone came on APC with a question such as "does anyone know what the latest and greatest is on biofuels" and I felt it was something worth keeping track of. I do think some form of biofuel will be adpoted in both commercial and military aviation in the next decade, there are some real advantages to using renewable fuels. I thought switchgrass and jatropha nuts were the best sources but apparently algae may be the better option. It remains to be seen whether they are cheaper than fossil fuels or not. Obviously they aren't right now.

Research Could Further Biomass Conversion Into Jet Fuel.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (2/26, Content) reports, "Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Thursday announced a discovery that advances the renewable-energy research aimed at converting corn stalks or switchgrass into jet fuel." Chemical and biological engineering professor James Dumesic, who co-founded a biofuels firm, said "the impetus for his work was prior research that found that the glucose [was] degrading into acids that weren't convertible into transportation fuels." However, Dumesic and fellow researchers "found they could convert those acids easily into GVL." However, "a key hurdle that remains is dealing with the high cost to produce GVL, which is now produced only in limited quantities."

Pratt & Whitney Ensuring GTF Can Power Twin-Aisle Narrowbody

Air Transport Intelligence News (3/1, Kirby) reported Pratt & Whitney is ensuring its "PurePower geared turbofan (GTF) engine can provide as much as 40,000lb of thrust." This GTF has "already been selected by Bombardier to power the 110/130-seat CSeries and by Mitsubishi to power the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ). The CSeries will be powered with the 20,000lb-24,000lb thrust class PurePower PW1000G." The GTF is generating interest from aircraft featuring "lightweight, twin-aisle narrowbody" designs.

Aviation Experts: Biofuel-Powered Flights Within A Decade.

The AP (3/18, Max) reports, "Within a decade, passenger planes will be flying on jet fuel largely made from plants...as airlines seek to break away from the volatile oil market and do their part to fight climate change, aviation experts said Wednesday." Attending the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, the experts said that "the industry is focusing on fuels that cause minimal environmental destruction." Still, the AP adds that the "projected shift" among airlines to using plant-based jet fuel "has stoked concern among environmentalists that the possible insatiable appetite of airlines for plant oil will hasten the destruction of tropical forests and the conversion of cropland from food to fuel."

Albaugh: Boeing Will Limit Re-Engining "Requirements Creep" On 737.

Air Transport Intelligence (3/18, Ostrower) reported, "As it moves closer to a decision on re-engining the 737, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh says his company must resist the urge to modify the 737 too much." Albaugh said he would work to limit "requirements creep, so it doesn't become an equivalent of a major change to the aircraft." Meanwhile, the company "has begun wind tunnel tests on various designs for a re-engined 737, evaluating the aerodynamic characteristics of a larger engine, as well as a modified strut and pylon."

EADS Backs Algae Biofuels.

Aviation Week (3/19, Warwick) reported EADS believes algae to be the best source of sustainable jet fuel, stating other feedstocks will not allow the airline industry to reach its carbon-footprint reduction goals. EADS CTO Jean Botti stated he does not believe "second-generation, plant-derived biofuels now under development offer sufficient life-cycle, carbon-dioxide reductions to replace petroleum-based jet fuel," further adding, "We absolutely need to push third-generation biofuels made from algae." A 50/50 blend of jet fuel and plant-derived biofuel, also referred to as "hydrotreated renewable jet fuel" is expected to be approved for commercial airline use in 2010, but research into algae-fuels is less advanced.

I guess the airplane needs to eat too, literally!:D