Renewable Fuels for Piston Aircraft

Aviation Fuel (Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF))

March 22, 2010

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by Jeffrey Decker (RenewableEnergyWorld.com) Fighter planes of WWII hit faster speeds thanks to lead additives in their fuel and leaded “avgas” still remains the fuel of choice for top-selling piston aircraft. Automotive use of this toxic, high-octane blend was banned in the U.S. in 1996 after first being restricted in 1973, and now a lawsuit is forcing the EPA to end airplane use as well.

Up until recently small aircraft pilots were nervous that an affordable high-performance replacement fuel would not be available once leaded avgas was outlawed. That is, until they leaned about SwiftFuel — a drop-in replacement that so far has impressed manufacturers and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it marches toward approval as a commercial product. Swift Enterprises, the company that created SwiftFuel has roots in the labs of Purdue University and negotiations are underway to build a 250,000 gallon per year facility nearby.

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Swift principal investigator Jon Ziulkowski explained that in the past 13 years, ASTM has “never seen anyone meet even half of the specifications. We meet 42 of the 44 specifications, so that’s why we’ve captured [the] interest of the FAA,” he said.

Ziulkowski said that the fuel is “chemically identical,” to its petroleum-based counterparts. Sugar beets and sorghum number among the potential green feedstocks, but “we’re using your traditional corn ethanol plant at this point because it’s there, it’s available [and] it’s cheap.”

… “We’re actually converting your biomass output, your 50/50 wet ethanol midway through an ethanol plant. We’re taking that and running it through our catalyst bed in the reactor. It actually rips apart the molecules and converts them into hydrocarbons.” READ MORE

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