Process Technology Produces Biofuel From Mexican-Sourced Jatropha

An Interjet Airbus A320-214 has flown from from Mexico City to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas using Honeywell UOP's "Green Jet Fuel", a blend of traditional jet fuel and biofuel produced from Mexican-sourced jatropha to power one of its CFM56-5B4/3 engines. Jatropha is an inedible plant that can be grown in many climates and does not compete with the food chain.

The demonstration flight, which took place April 1, is the culmination of work between Honeywell's UOP, Interjet, Airbus, CFM International, the Government of the State of Chiapas and Auxiliary Services (ASA), an arm of Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transport.

"ASA's leadership and commitment to identifying local and sustainable sources of aviation biofuel for Mexico have been instrumental in making this flight a reality," said Jim Rekoske, vice president and general manager of Renewable Energy and Chemicals for Honeywell's UOP. "ASA, Interjet, Airbus, CFM and UOP share a vision that Green Jet Fuel can help address our transportation needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping the Mexican rural economy." 

The 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 within as much as a 50 percent blend with petroleum-derived jet fuel, the blended 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.

Results of previous demonstration flights showed that that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel performed as well, if not better, in many key performance areas, according to the company.

FMI: www.uop.com