Navy Biofuel Breakthrough Could Mean Cheaper, More Efficient Travel

(TechLink Center) ... But scientists at the Naval Air Warfare Center’s Weapons Division have developed and secured a newly issued patent on a unique form of biofuel that is derived from more sustainable crops while providing higher quality ratings than comparable diesel fuels.

Dr. Ben Harvey and Heather Meylemans at the NAWCWD in China Lake, California have been working on the novel technology for several years. Navy test pilots have previously flown on 100-percent biofuel, but the pair wanted to improve on the fuel’s sourcing and efficiency.

The new process, outlined in the patent issued Tuesday, involves taking lignocellulosic biomass — essentially any naturally occurring plant matter: grass, trees, crops, etc. — and breaking it down into pure dioxolanes using acid-catalyzed condensation of the food-grade flavor enhancer 2-tridecanone.

The 2-tridecanone is the key to the whole operation. Conventional biodiesel is often generated from plant or animal-derived triglycerides, but 2-tridecanone is a cheap and easy-to-produce alternative that simplifies the entire process.

The end result is a fuel product that, according to Harvey and Meylemans patent, has “comparable net heats of combustion (NHOCs) to conventional biodiesel, while maintaining derived cetane numbers between 82-91, values which are 20–30 units higher than conventional biodiesel and 40–50 units higher than petroleum-derived diesel fuel.”

Harvey and co-author Kale Harrison wrote a paper on the technology’s promise — particularly its sustainability — for the journal Sustainable Energy and Fuels in 2018.

The biofuel is the latest in a long line of successful Navy patents and technology developments for Harvey. He recently worked with British scientists to study the sustainable, biosynthetic production of jet fuel in seawater.

The chemistry branch at the NAWCWD has been conducting research on renewable jet fuels and high-density turbine fuels since 2007. Its effort has led to a broad portfolio of patents, including Harvey’s team’s recent biofuel breakthrough, which can be licensed by businesses for product development through TechLink. READ MORE