(UOP)  Fuel produced using Honeywell’s UOP process technology will power the first helicopter flight on sustainable biofuels.

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced June 16, 2010, that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel(TM) produced using its Green Jet Fuel process technology powered a Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter flown by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. 

The flight, which is the first helicopter flight using sustainable aviation biofuels to date, was conducted at Gilze-Rijen Airbase, the home of the Royal Netherlands’ combat helicopter fleet. Natural oils from algae and used cooking oil were converted into Green Jet Fuel using process technology developed by Honeywell’s UOP. The aviation biofuel was blended in a 50 percent mixture with traditional jet fuel, and this blend was used to power one of the Apache’s engines for a series of test maneuvers. No modifications were made to the engine or airframe for the flight. 

“We congratulate the Royal Netherlands Air Force on this first successful helicopter flight and applaud their commitment to identifying new, sustainable sources for aviation biofuel,” said Jim Rekoske, vice president and general manager for the Renewable Energy and Chemicals business of Honeywell’s UOP. “We continue to show through testing and demonstrations the viability of biofuels for both military and commercial aviation.” 

Honeywell Green Jet Fuel has been used in four previous commercial biofuel demonstration flights, including a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines demonstration flight in November 2009. The fuel has also been demonstrated in fixed-wing flights with the U.S. Air Force and Navy as part of a joint program for alternative fuels testing and certification under the U.S. Defense Energy Support Center (DESC). 

The 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 produces an aviation biofuel that can be blended seamlessly with petroleum-based fuel. As part of a 50 percent blend with petroleum-derived jet fuel, Green Jet Fuel is a drop-in replacement that requires no changes to the aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight. 

Honeywell’s UOP business, a recognized global leader in process technology to convert petroleum feedstocks to fuels and chemicals, is developing a range of processes to produce green fuels from natural feedstocks. In addition to its Green Jet Fuel process technology, the company has commercialized the UOP/Eni Ecofining(TM) process to produce Honeywell Green Diesel(TM) from biological feedstocks. It has also a joint venture with Ensyn Corp. in Envergent Technologies LLC, which offers pyrolysis technology for the production of renewable heat, power and transportation fuels.   READ MORE

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