Earlier this month, a team of scientists at the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) successfully tested a new biofuel based on a mixture of canola and soybean oils, and claim it may be the key to zero emission aviation [video].

The new super-biofuel, known as Jet Propellant-8 (JP-8) was used to launch a rocket above the Mojave Desert, where it approached the speed of sound and reached an altitude of 20,000 feet - a major leap forward in biofuel-powered flight.

Speaking about the launch Carsten Heide, associate director for the EERC said, “We demonstrated that this fuel is a flying fuel, and is 100% renewable and burns clean. It would open up the possibility to run 100% renewable, clean planes. You can see in the picture how clean it burns.”

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Using a 50-50 mixture of JP-8 jet fuel and a natural gas-based synthetic fuel, an F-15 Strike Eagle flew high above Robins Air Force Base in Georgia this week.  One of the pilots for the test, Maj. Dan Badia, is quoted as saying it was just another day at the office.

He said, “You could have had JP-8 in there and I wouldn’t have known the difference.”

The test flight involved engineers from the 830th Aircraft Sustainment Group, who maintain the 561st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and pilots from the 339th Flight Test Certification office.

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