Renewable Aviation Fuels Research Articles

Exploring Ways to Green Aviation Energy and Reduce Carbon Emissions in Civil Aviation in China

The rapid expansion of China's civil aviation industry has brought about economic prosperity, but it has also exposed the growing problem of carbon emissions. To meet the challenge of climate change and promote the process of sustainable development, China's civil aviation industry is actively exploring innovative ways to green aviation energy and reduce carbon emissions. These include utilizing renewable energy, promoting the use of renewable aviation fuels, applying energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies, and conducting carbon capture and offsetting. Through these efforts, they will help significantly reduce carbon emissions and make an important contribution to the fight against climate change, as well as open up a new path for the sustainable development of China's civil aviation industry.

Renewable Aviation Fuel: Review of Bio-jet Fuel for Aviation Industry

The search for environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable renewable fuel generation methods is a major global concern. A type of aviation fuel called jet fuel or often spelled avtur is intended for use in aeroplanes with turbine (gas) engines. Jet fuel appears colourless. The fuels Jet A and Jet A-1 are the most frequently used ones in commercial aviation sector. Other than Jet B, which is utilised for its enhanced cold-weather operation, there are no other jet fuels that are frequently used in gas-turbine-engine in the aviation industry. Renewable aviation fuel or known as bio-jet fuels represent a sizable sector for the consumption of fossil fuels. The production of bioethanol and biodiesel for piston engine vehicles in internal combustion engines has already shown that biofuel can play a significant role in the development of sustainable renewable aviation jet fuel. Here, we also provide a book review on the potential bio-jet fuel as a renewable aviation jet fuel.

Optimal Supply Chain Design for Renewable Aviation Fuel Production in México Considering the Full Use of Nonedible Biomass

Renewable energy resources have received attention due to concerns about oil depletion and climate change consequences. In the aviation sector, the development of renewable aviation fuel is identified as a promising alternative to replace fossil jet fuel in the current infrastructure. Thus, obtaining the alternative optimal designs to satisfy the upcoming demand has become a crucial factor. Therefore, a mathematical model of biojet fuel production supply, by hydroprocessing inedible oils (such as Jatropha curcas, camelina, palm stearin, and Ricinus communis), was proposed along with renewable hydrogen production (produced from residual biomass in oil extraction). Considering the Mexican airport network, it was possible to identify the best economic scenario with a profit of 16,893,146 USD/y and 27.6% CO2 emission reduction, in comparison with fossil jet fuel use. Additionally, the best solutions show that it is possible to satisfy the national jet fuel demand (4,157.5 ktonne/y) with the produced renewable fuel jet and even increase the profit using surplus sales (315 ktonne/y). This is possible with the amount of biomass harvested in 26 states in Mexico, and only 11 biojet fuel production facilities are installed.

Transforming carbon dioxide into jet fuel using an organic combustion-synthesized Fe-Mn-K catalyst

With mounting concerns over climate change, the utilisation or conversion of carbon dioxide into sustainable, synthetic hydrocarbons fuels, most notably for transportation purposes, continues to attract worldwide interest. This is particularly true in the search for sustainable or renewable aviation fuels. These offer considerable potential since, instead of consuming fossil crude oil, the fuels are produced from carbon dioxide using sustainable renewable hydrogen and energy. We report here a synthetic protocol to the fixation of carbon dioxide by converting it directly into aviation jet fuel using novel, inexpensive iron-based catalysts. We prepare the Fe-Mn-K catalyst by the so-called Organic Combustion Method, and the catalyst shows a carbon dioxide conversion through hydrogenation to hydrocarbons in the aviation jet fuel range of 38.2%, with a yield of 17.2%, and a selectivity of 47.8%, and with an attendant low carbon monoxide (5.6%) and methane selectivity (10.4%). The conversion reaction also produces light olefins ethylene, propylene, and butenes, totalling a yield of 8.7%, which are important raw materials for the petrochemical industry and are presently also only obtained from fossil crude oil. As this carbon dioxide is extracted from air, and re-emitted from jet fuels when combusted in flight, the overall effect is a carbon-neutral fuel. This contrasts with jet fuels produced from hydrocarbon fossil sources where the combustion process unlocks the fossil carbon and places it into the atmosphere, in longevity, as aerial carbon - carbon dioxide.

A Study on Bio-Diesel and Jet Fuel Blending for the Production of Renewable Aviation Fuel

Aviation industry is considered one of the contributors to atmospheric CO2emissions. It is forced to cut off carbon dioxide emission starting 2020. Current trends in bio-jet production involve mega projects with million dollars of investments. In this study, bio-jet fuel production by blending bio-diesel with traditional jet fuel at different concentrations of bio-diesel (5, 10, 15, 20 vol. %) was investigated. This blending technique will reduce bio-jet production cost compared to other bio-jet techniques. Bio-diesel was originally produced by the transesterification of non-edible vegetable oil (renewable sources), so, its blend with jet fuel will has a reduced carbon foot print. The blend was tested to ensure that the end product will meet the ASTM D1655 international specifications for Jet A-1 and Jet A and can be used in aircrafts.Available data on biodiesel blending with jet fuel in the literature is not consistent, there are many contradictory results. Hence, more investigations are required using locally available feedstocks. The main physicochemical properties for Jet A-1 and Jet A according to ASTM D1655 were tested to check if the blend will be compatible with existing turbojet engine systems. Different tests were conducted; vacuum distillation, smoke point, kinematic viscosity, density, flash point, total acidity and freezing point. In addition, heating value of the blend was calculated. The result was then compared with calculated value using blending indices available in the literature. Blending indices were able to predict the laboratory measured specifications for the studied blends.It was found that only 5% bio-diesel- 95% jet fuel blend (B5) meets ASTM standard for Jet A. Hence, biodiesel can be safely used as a blend with fossil-based jet for a concentration of up to 5% without any change in the ASTM specifications. Freezing point is the most important constrain for this blending technique. Higher blends of biodiesel will cause the bio-jet blend to fail ASTM specifications. In general, blending technique will reduce the cost impact that may have been incurred due to change in infrastructure when using other production techniques.

Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest: Commercialization Challenges for the Renewable Aviation Fuel Industry

A bioenergy summit was organized by Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest (AHB) to debate the barriers to the commercialization of a hybrid poplar biofuels industry for the alternative jet fuels market from the perspective of five years of AHB research and development and two recent surveys of the North American cellulosic biofuels industry. The summit showed that: (1) Growing and converting poplar feedstock to aviation fuels is technically sound, (2) an adequate land base encompassing 6.03 and 12.86 million respective hectares of croplands and rangelands is potentially available for poplar feedstock production, (3) biofuel production is accompanied by a global warming potential that meets the threshold 60% reduction mandated for advanced renewable fuels but (4) the main obstruction to achieving a workable poplar aviation fuels market is making the price competitive with conventional jet fuels. Returns on investment into biomass farms and biorefineries are therefore insufficient to attract private-sector capital the fact notwithstanding that the demand for a reliable and sustainable supply of environmentally well-graded biofuels for civilian and military aviation is clear. Eleven key findings and recommendations are presented as a guide to a strategic plan for a renewed pathway to poplar alternative jet fuels production based upon co-products, refinery co-location with existing industries, monetization of ecosystem services, public-private financing, and researching more efficient and lower-costs conversion methods such as consolidated bioprocessing.

Hydrotreating of Triglyceride Feedstock to Produce Renewable Aviation Fuel

Hydrotreating of Triglyceride Feedstock to Produce Renewable Aviation Fuel

Production of High-Density Renewable Aviation Fuel from Arid Land Crop

Grindelia squarrosa biocrude is a promising feedstock for producing high-density cycloalkane fuels for high-performance aircraft due to the branched tricyclic nature of its primary diterpenoid component, grindelic acid. Herein we designed a novel biphasic tandem catalytic process (biTCP) for the conversion of Grindelia squarrosa biocrude into high-density aviation fuels with a superior carbon atom efficiency. The systematic experimental studies provided valuable insights into the effects of process conditions. The detailed speciation was carried out with the complementary chemical analysis techniques. Under the optimum conditions, a ∼90% carbon yield of aviation fuel components was produced from the Grindelia squarrosa biocrude. Multistep tandem reactions, including cyclic ether ring opening, dehydration, hydrogenation, and decarboxylation were carried out in the “one-pot” biTCP. The detailed catalytic reaction mechanism is discussed. A continuous process was designed integrating the extraction of biocrude and its conversion to dense jet fuels using biTCP. The techno-economic analysis has been performed, and in its current state, the proposed process is expected to deliver price-competitive high-density aviation fuel products.

Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of High Carbon Furylmethanes to Renewable Jet‐fuel Ranged Alkanes over a Rhenium‐Modified Iridium Catalyst

AbstractInvited for this month′s cover is the group of Basudeb Saha and Dionisios G. Vlachos at the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation (CCEI), University of Delaware. The image shows the use of renewable aviation fuels produced from C−C coupled biomass platforms. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.201700863.

Strategies toward Experimental Assessments of New Aviation Renewable Fuels and Blends: The BIOREFLY Project

The reduction of greenhouse gases emissions from the aviation sector is focused on better engine efficiency or optimized flight pathways. However, the most relevant is probably the use of sustainable biofuels. In order to meet the strict jet fuelspecifications for commercial flights, these biofuels(drop-in fuels) must contain only paraffinic hydrocarbons, without heteroatoms. Several renewable aviation fuels have already been certified by ASTM, others are under examination. Anew promising route consists in the thermochemical conversion of lignin, the main co-product from 2nd generation ethanol. The EU FP7 BIOREFLY project will develop a first industrial pre-commercial lignin-to-jet fuel 2000 ty-1demonstration plant. The present work describes strategies, equipment and R&D lines of BIOREFLY, which aims at evaluating the properties of this bio-jet fuel and its blends in view of future ASTM certification. Injection features and the combustion properties of aviation engines will be investigated in an optical combustor rig. Combustion parameters, emissions and chemiluminescence provide fundamental data to understand the combustion behavior for different hydrocarbons species. Tests in micro-gas-turbines (i.e. power generation and APU-derivative units) will assess the effect of fuels in terms of emissions and evaluating their performances.

Quantification of aldehydes emissions from alternative and renewable aviation fuels using a gas turbine engine

In this research three renewable aviation fuel blends including two HEFA (Hydrotreated Ester and Fatty Acid) blends and one FAE (Fatty Acids Ethyl Ester) blend with conventional Jet A-1 along with a GTL (Gas To Liquid) fuel have been tested for their aldehydes emissions on a small gas turbine engine. Three strong ozone formation precursors: formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein were measured in the exhaust at different operational modes and compared to neat Jet A-1. The aim is to assess the impact of renewable and alternative aviation fuels on aldehydes emissions from aircraft gas turbine engines so as to provide informed knowledge for the future deployment of new fuels in aviation. The results show that formaldehyde was a major aldehyde species emitted with a fraction of around 60% of total measured aldehydes emissions for all fuels. Acrolein was the second major emitted aldehyde species with a fraction of ∼30%. Acetaldehyde emissions were very low for all the fuels and below the detention limit of the instrument. The formaldehyde emissions at cold idle were up to two to threefold higher than that at full power. The fractions of formaldehyde were 6–10% and 20% of total hydrocarbon emissions in ppm at idle and full power respectively and doubled on a g kg−1-fuel basis.

Technoeconomic analysis of renewable aviation fuel from microalgae, Pongamia pinnata, and sugarcane

AbstractTechnoeconomic analysis of renewable aviation fuels has not been widely considered, despite the increasing global attention that the field has received. We present three process models for production of aviation‐fuel from microalgae, Pongamia pinnata seeds and sugarcane molasses. The models and assumptions have been deposited on a wiki (http://qsafi.aibn.uq.edu.au) and are open and accessible to the community. Based on currently available long‐term reputable technological data, this analysis indicates that the biorefineries processing the microalgae, Pongamia seeds, and sugarcane feedstocks would be competitive with crude oil at $1343, $374, and $301/bbl, respectively. Sensitivity analyses of the major economic drivers suggest technological and market developments that would bring the corresponding figures down to $385, $255, and $168/bbl. The dynamic nature of the freely accessible models will allow the community to track progress toward economic competitiveness of aviation fuels from these renewable feedstocks. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd