B747 Powered By Second Generation Renewable Feendstock
Des Plaines-based UOP LLC announced
Monday that its renewable jet fuel process technology was used to
convert second-generation, renewable feedstocks to green jet fuel
for a biofuel demonstration flight by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
UOP's process technology was used to convert oil from camelina,
an inedible plant, to green jet fuel for the flight. One engine of
a Boeing 747 was powered by a fuel mixture consisting of a 50/50
mix of the green jet fuel and traditional petroleum-derived jet
fuel.
The flight, which took place Monday at Schiphol Airport in
Amsterdam, is the first green jet fuel demonstration flight in
Europe and the first test flight to carry a select group of
observers. UOP's process technology was also used to produce jet
fuel used in previous test flights conducted in the U.S., Japan and
New Zealand. Test results from earlier demonstration flights showed
that green jet fuel produced using UOP's process technology
performs as well, if not better, than jet fuel made from
petroleum.
"Biofuels provide an important
option to meeting the rapid growth in energy demand, while
effectively balancing social and environmental needs," said
Jennifer Holmgren, vice president and general manager of UOP's
Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit. "KLM shares a vision
with UOP and others that green jet fuel can help meet the airline
industry's goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
UOP's green jet fuel process technology was originally developed
in 2007 under a contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) to produce renewable military jet fuel for
the U.S. military. The process is based on hydroprocessing
technology commonly used in today's refineries to produce
transportation fuels. In this process, hydrogen is added to remove
oxygen from natural oils produced from sustainable feedstocks
including camelina, jatropha and algae.
The UOP process produces a green
jet fuel that is blended seamlessly with petroleum-based fuel. When
used up to a 50 percent blend with petroleum-derived jet fuel, the
green jet fuel is a drop-in replacement that requires no changes to
the aircraft technology and meets all of the critical
specifications for flight, including a freeze point at -47 degrees
Celsius and a flash point at 38 degrees Celsius.
Camelina, the biofeedstock which was converted to make the green
jet fuel, is an inedible plant that grows in conditions where other
food crops cannot, is considered a sustainable, second-generation
resource because its cultivation and harvesting do not tax valuable
food, land or water resources.
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