"100SF" Fuel Under Development Possible "Drop-In" Replacement For 100LL

A large step has been taken toward bringing an unleaded aviation gasoline to the general aviation industry. Swift Enterprises, based in the Purdue Research Park, has been developing an unleaded replacement for aviation gasoline for the last five years, which Swift Enterprises officials call 100SF.  One of the milestones in the path to commercialization of their product is the publication of a specification by ASTM International that defines their fuel.

Earlier in May, ASTM International approved a new fuel specification, ASTM D7719 Standard Specification for High Octane Unleaded Test Fuel, for Grade UL102 unleaded aviation gasoline; 100SF meets the performance parameters for Grade UL102. In order to ensure the continued safe operation of every aircraft/engine in the fleet, this specification is modeled after ASTM D910, the current specification for 100LL.

Swift officials began development of an unleaded, high-octane replacement for 100LL (100-octane low lead) aviation gasoline because of rumors of the coming demise of the leaded gasoline. In recent months, the issue of leaded fuels being used in general aviation has come to the forefront. This has further opened the industry to searching for a viable replacement for 100LL, such as UL102. In the beginning of 2011, the FAA Administrator formed an Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee to focus on the current issues relating to the transition to an unleaded avgas.

"The approval of this standard is a major part of the process for getting this fuel to market," said PJ Catania, the head of fuels certification and member of ASTM International for Swift Enterprises.

ASTM D7719 does not yet allow for UL102 to be sold at airports commercially but does allow Swift to test UL102 in non-Experimental aircraft, thereby eliminating significant time and expenses from each industry testing program. Another major advantage of a test fuel specification such as D7719 is that it ensures that test fuel delivered by Swift to individual test agencies meets the same performance parameters every time, thereby guaranteeing consistency in the tests and fuel quality.  With the test fuel specification now accomplished, Swift will now focus on working with industry partners to gather additional data to transform D7719 into a commercial specification.

"Added to what Swift has already accomplished via industry testing and collaboration, we believe that this achievement proves that the ASTM process works and can be completed with the proper technical diligence and industry collaboration," said Mary Rusek, president of Swift Enterprises.

FMI: www.swiftenterprises.com