Last night, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) demonstrated the world’s first manned airplane that can fly exclusively with the use of a fuel cell. The fuel cell, which is based on polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM), generates power for the motor glider’s electric engine.

Read more of this story »

Leaders in the aviation industry join together, committing to bring sustainable practices into their fuel supply chain.

For those of us who have taken a flight recently,  it’s obvious that the airlines are in trouble.  Who ever would have thought that we’d be paying extra for a pillow?  Or an aisle seat?  With the rise in oil prices, many airlines are seeking out creative ways to stay afloat.  Some of these companies are going straight to the heart of the issue, and beginning to investigate a more sustainable fuel supply.

While Boeing has been researching biofuels in the aviation industry for some time, last week’s formation of a new collaborative group ratchets up their commitment to the issue, and brings some key players to the table.

Boeing joined Virgin Atlantic Airways, along with eight other commercial airlines to establish the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group.  The group is committed to accelerating the development of sustainable biofuels for use in the commercial airline industry.  Honeywell’s UOP, a refining technology developer, is also part of the group.

Read more of this story »

With the price of fuel increasing, fuel has become the largest expense for airlines. Airlines can only increase their fares so far without turning their customers away completely. One of the ramifications for this development is that airlines are actively researching and testing methods to increase fuel efficiency and, in the process, reduce greenhouse gases.

In a recent article, Sustainable Industries highlights new green innovations in the air transportation industry.

Read more of this story »

It’s the first time a plane powered by a hydrogen cell has left the ground with a pilot at the controls. Boeing said there’s still a lot to do before hydrogen fuel cells will power commercial airliners. As the technology progresses, Boeing says traditional jet fuel will be phased out as renewable sources take its place.

Source

Continental Airlines, Boeing, and GE Aviation have scheduled a biofuel test flight for early 2009, citing the desire to identify sustainable fuel alternatives for the aviation industry. Continental may be the first US carrier to do so and, in the words of president and CEO of GE aviation, is “taking an important step in advancing the use of sustainable biofuels in aviation.”

The three companies are working together to identify a non-food based, second-generation biofuel that won’t significantly impact forests or water resources. No details on the fuel are available, but it will have to be production ready in quantities sufficient to power the test-flight and mix seamlessly with kerosene aviation fuel (Jet-A).

Read more of this story »

As promised in their earlier news releases, Virgin Atlantic said they would use a sustainable fuel made from feedstock not normally used for food products. Both coconut oil and babassu oil are used in cosmetic products, lip balm and other such applications. The raw materials were harvested from existing, mature plantations in Brazil.

Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic is quoted as saying,

“Today marks a biofuel breakthrough for the whole airline industry, Virgin Atlantic nd its partners have proved that you can find an alternative to
traditional jet fuel and fly a plane on biofuel. This pioneering flight
will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions
to go on developing the fuels of the future, fuels which will power our
aircraft in the years ahead.”

There was wide speculation that an algae-based biofuel would be used in the test, but that, of course, proved false even though Virgin Atlantic hinted strongly at the possibility.

According to Radio Netherlands the Boeing 747 landed at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport after a successful flight.

Engineers will now study results of tests taken during the trip to determine if sustainable biofuels will fit into commercial aviation and lessen CO2 emissions.

Not everyone agrees, however, that biofuels will “fly”, as noted here by  Pem Charnley, contributor to Green Options’ EcoWorldly blog.  His feelings are outlined here, Pies in the Sky.

Source

It was first reported in January that Virgin Atlantic would test flight a Boeing 747 jetliner using a biofuel, without naming the fuel. An algae-derived biofuel was, however, mentioned as a strong possibility for the flight between London Heathrow airport and Amsterdam. The plane will carry a limited flight crew and no passengers.

Next, an official of the UK Department of Transport claimed in a document leaked to Flight International that a 20% mixture of algae biofuel and regular jet fuel will be used in one engine for the test.

The latest comes from a Boeing official who said, in an interveiw with Flight at the Singapore air show, the Virgin Flight will definitely not use algae-derived biofuel in the test. Instead, a first-generation feedstock, such as soy, canola, babassu or palm oil will be the source of the biofuel.

The use of a hydrogenated fuel would, as one expert put it, “be a good demonstration of proof of concept.” He did say, however, that algae will be considered as a fuel source in the future.

Well, whatever they use, it’ll be a first for the commercial aviation industry. An Airbus 380 flew with a gas-to-liquid biofuel a few weeks ago, proving that a biofuel was an option, but in their case it was a fuel derived from fossil deposits.

The test is slated for the end of February, so we’ll know soon what fuel was used in the flight.

Related Posts:
Airbus A380 First to Fly With Alternative Fuel
Chevron Backs Solazyme’s Algae Biodiesel Production Process (+Video)

Boeing announced in January they would test an alternative fuel in one engine of a 747, but did not disclose what that fuel would be. They did, however, talk a great deal about an algae-derived fuel, without being specific.

Airbus, meanwhile, said it used a liquid fuel processed from gas (Gas to Liquids - GTL), mixed with regular jet fuel in the number one engine. The flight, from Filton, UK to Toulouse, France, took three hours. The plane is powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, and said to be the most fuel efficient in the air today.

Boeing, meanwhile had planned their test in late February, as explained in this story: Algae-Based Biofuel to Power Virgin Atlantic 747 Jet?, filed on Jan. 15.

This is certainly a positive step towards reducing our environmental impact, but it is important that we do not accept this as the final solution. Phil Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, a non-partisan US group, told the BBC that the 787 was a "major step forward," but not the sole solution to aviation emissions. Air travel for a family of four flying from the USA to Europe would produce approximately the same amount of carbon as the sum of their domestic energy use in an entire year, and this will continue to rise. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2050 emissions from aircraft could be responsible for up to 15 percent of total global warming produced by human activities."

As travellers, our current objective should be an approach on multiple fronts. Consumers should applaud this technical advancement in jet production, but also call for even more advancements from competitors to create a race towards travel that does not harm the environment. The amount of travel each person undertakes should also be limited as much as possible; when it's unavoidable, travelers shoud consider purchasing carbon offsets. Consumers should also consider train transportation when possible, as travel by rail emits one third of the carbon as an equivalent flight.

What, you might ask, is ’synfuel’? As noted previously, ’synfuel’ is a synthetic fuel most commonly made from coal or natural gas. Ok, master of the obvious I know, but let me provide a little more detail: coal, natural gas, or in some cases, biomass, can be converted into a mixture of gases through a process known as gasification. Gasification is basically burning something (at >400 C) in the presence of a limited amount of oxygen to produce a specific mixture of gases, namely carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen (H2).

Ok, stay with me here, and don’t forget about the carbon dioxide that’s produced during gasification - that’s important.

This gaseous mixture of CO, CO2, and H2 is the precursor to making synthetic liquid diesel fuel (synfuel), via another production method known as the ‘Fischer Tropsch‘ process. The reaction uses a catalyst to convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen into hydrocarbon chains, which composes the basic structure of diesel fuel. This is a historically important process: German researchers Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch developed the reaction in 1923, and it provided Nazi Germany with as much as 124,000 barrels of synthetic diesel per day during WWII (1).

To recap:

Coal =(gasification)=> CO + H2 + CO2
CO + H2 =(Fischer Tropsch)=> synthetic diesel + CO2

Now, keep that in mind as we jump back to the Air Force, which plans on testing synthetic diesel in a 50/50 blend with regular jet fuel:

“The acquisition of these 315,000 gallons of synthetic fuel this year is one more step toward meeting the Air Force goal of testing and certifying the entire fleet for use of the fuel by 2010. Additional acquisitions of synthetic fuel will be made for testing and certification over the next three years. The ultimate goal of the Air Force is to acquire 50 percent of its [Continental United States] fuel by 2016 from domestic sources producing a synthetic fuel-blend and using carbon capture and sequestration technology,” said William C. Anderson, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment & Logistics.”

Boeing’s prediction seems right on the money: The short-term fuel replacement, at least for the Air Force, will be synthetic diesel. Whether or not that’s a good idea is hazier. Synfuel actually burns a bit cleaner than regular fuel, because it doesn’t contain the sulfur and aromatics contained in diesel. But there’s one major problem, if you remember the chemical equation above. The standard conversion of coal to synthetic fuel nearly doubles life-cycle emissions of the fuel it replaces. If synthetic diesel from coal was widely implemented for air travel, it would double the greenhouse gas emissions for that form of travel.

Fortunately, according the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), this problem could be mitigated or even overcome by the use of biomass as a feedstock, instead of coal. NREL states in one report that synfuel from biomass can be ‘largely carbon neutral’. (3)

While a transition to synthetic aviation fuel seems inevitable, it must once again be highlighted that the sustainability of alternative fuels depends entirely on their source materials and production methods. Nevertheless, welcome to the future of aviation…

Southwest Nebraska News: Synfuel Contract Awarded by Defense Department (June 11, 2007)
(1) U.S. DOE: The Early Days of Coal Research
(2) U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Catalytic Conversion
(3) NREL: Improving the technical, environmental and social performance of wind energy systems using biomass-based energy storage
(4) Clean Diesel from Coal A novel catalytic method could let you fill up your tank with coal-derived diesel, cutting U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Last month, in an 8-page document plainly titled “Alternative Fuels for Commercial Aircraft”, Boeing presented their estimation of the alternative fuel sources that could ‘relieve worldwide pressure on crude-oil derived fuels’ and drive air travel to carbon neutrality.

The biofuel debate has largely glossed over the ‘friendly skies’ while high fuel prices continue to take their toll on the industry. No biofuel we have yet can step up to the plate. Ethanol collects water and corrodes the engine and lines while biodiesel freezes up in cold weather (ie: cruising altitude). Don’t forget pilots’ general resistance to change and a life and death dependency on reliable fuel, and aviation biofuels don’t have a leg to stand on.

“There are a lot of questions to be answered and one of them, frankly, that has been answered so far is that ethanol is probably not suitable for airplanes,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes environmental strategy managing director Bill Glover said during a Star Alliance conference in Copenhagen.
“That would require changes to the airplane - (ethanol) doesn’t have the energy content and it has some other properties that are incompatible with the systems in the airplane.
“But we can, it looks like, develop something that is more like a biodiesel that has some promise.”

This isn’t going to happen right away though, and Boeing sees possibilities for 3 different time tables: near, mid-range, and long-term. In the near term, a ‘drop-in’ fuel is needed - something to replace regular fuel as quickly as possible. Boeing thinks this might be a blend of kerosene and synthetic diesel produced via Fischer-Tropsch process (I had to look it up too). Though this could alleviate some dependence on crude, synthetic diesel is still nonrenewable and without CO2 sequestration (mentioned as a possibility in the report) it can actually double net CO2 emissions (being typically manufactured from coal or natural gas) .

In the mid-term (10-50 years), Boeing suggests biofuels will make up a much larger percentage of jet fuel in blends with synthetic diesel or Jet-A (standard Jet fuel). The significant barriers to this are well-known: lack of farmland for contemporaryfeedstocks (soybeans, etc) and competition for food, fuel gelling problems, poorer heat stability in the engine, and questionable suitability for storage.

But the long term is where things get really exciting, and Boeing is extremely optimistic about the potential of algae:

With the potential for algae of providing 10,000 gal/acre/year, some 85 billion gallons of bio-jet could be produced on a landmass equivalent to the size of the US state of Maryland. Moreover, if these bio-jet fuels were fully compatible with legacy aircraft, it would be sufficient to supply the present world’s fleet with 100 percent of their fuel needs (fig. 13) as well into the future.”

Yes, Boeing actually said that: 100% of world aviation fuel needs. Details are sparse at this point, and it’s unclear what this algae bio-jetfuel will be, but Boeing seems satisfied by the prospect and appears sincerely concerned about global warming. The take home message was that:

Long-term solutions will need to dramatically reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Therefore, alternate fuels with low to zero carbon content, such as liquid hydrogen or liquid methane, might be used.

Liquid fuels like these could be the next step, potentially produced by nuclear or preferably, solar power.

It’s good to hear some noise coming from the aviation industry, and perhaps algae won’t take 50 years to become the fuel source of the future.

Latest update on Algae Biodiesel: Algae Biodiesel: First Industrial Algae Plants Go Online

For more on this topic, see also: Algae Biodiesel May Soon Be Reality

Alternate Fuels for use in Commercial Aircraft
Algae May become the Aircraft Fuel of the Future (May 25)