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JAL Biofuel Demo Flight First to Use Energy Crop Camelina
17 December 2008
Japan Airlines (JAL) will be the first airline to conduct a demonstration flight using a sustainable biofuel refined from the energy crop camelina. The demo flight, which will test a blend of 50% biofuel and 50% traditional Jet-A jet (kerosene) fuel in one of the four Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines of a JAL-owned Boeing 747-300 aircraft, is planned for 30 January 2009 out of Haneda Airport, Tokyo.
The biofuel component—a synthetic paraffinic kerosene produced by UOP (earlier post)—will be produced from a mixture of three second-generation biofuel feedstocks: camelina (84%), jatropha (less than 16%), and algae (less than 1%).
This will make the JAL biofuel demonstration flight the first one to be powered by camelina, and the first using a combination of three sustainable feedstocks. It will also be the first biofuel demo by an Asian carrier, as well as the first one using Pratt & Whitney engines.
UOP’s process, which is feedstock flexible and results in a “Green Jet” renewable synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK), is based on the hydrogenation/de-oxygenation of free fatty acids (based on the EcoFining technology) followed by isomerization and selective cracking to improve the low-temperature properties and to clip the carbons into the right range for jet fuel.
The exact carbon number distribution—and end fuel properties—varies between oil sources, but can be controlled by processing targets.
The 50:50 blend of SPK and Jet-A was lab tested by Boeing, UOP, and several independent laboratories to verify that the biofuel met the industry criteria for jet fuel performance. Ground-based jet engine performance testing by Pratt & Whitney of similar fuels further established that the biofuel blend either meets or exceeds the performance criteria that is in place for commercial aviation jet fuel today.
Camelina. Camelina sativa, also known as gold-of-pleasure or false flax, is a flowering plant in the Brassicaceae family, which includes other oilseeds such as mustard and rapeseed.
Camelina has high oil content; its oils are low in saturated fat; it is drought-resistant and requires less fertilizer and herbicides. Most importantly, it is an excellent rotation crop with wheat, and it can also grow in marginal land. Camelina does not displace other crops or compete as a food source.
Native to Northern Europe and Central Asia, the plant also thrives in the plains areas of the United States, including Montana. Sustainable Oils officially launched its camelina growers program in the state last year, and is aggressively expanding the number of growers and acres planted. It is estimated that the state of Montana alone could support between 2 and 3 million acres of camelina, generating 200 to 300 million gallons of oil each year.
Camelina is classified as a traditional crop, but is considered a next-generation feedstock given that its primary use is for biofuel.
Camelina is a dedicated energy crop that has the energy properties we need to create a new source of aviation jet fuel. We’re focused on creating sustainable plant-derived jet fuel blends that meet or exceed all of the current jet fuel specification properties, but not at the expense of food crops or water resources. Camelina is a solid match in that regard.
—Billy Glover, managing director, Environmental Strategy, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
The camelina to be used in the JAL demo flight was sourced by Sustainable Oils, Inc., a US-based provider of renewable, environmentally clean, and high-value camelina-based fuels. Terasol Energy sourced and provided the jatropha oil, and the algae oil was provided by Sapphire Energy.
Sustainable Oils officially launched its camelina growers program in Montana last year, and is aggressively expanding the number of growers and acres planted.
JAL, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and UOP have committed to the use of second-generation biofuel feedstocks that are more efficient and sustainable energy than first-generation counterparts. Second-generation biofuel feedstocks, such as camelina, jatropha and algae, do not compete with natural food or water resources and do not contribute to deforestation practices.
The test flight. The approximately 1 hour demo flight out of Haneda Airport, Tokyo will be flown by JAL staff with no passengers onboard. The flight will be the final stage in a 12-month process to confirm the sustainable biofuel’s operational performance capabilities and potential commercial viability.
The highest levels of safety will be adhered to throughout the whole biofuel demonstration flight. Prior to takeoff, we will run the No. 3 engine (middle right) using the fuel blend to confirm everything operates normally. In the air, we will check the engine’s performance during normal and non-normal flight operations, which will include quick accelerations and decelerations, and engine shutdown and restart.
—JAL Environmental Affairs Vice President Yasunori Abe
Once the flight has been completed, data recorded on the aircraft will be analyzed by Pratt & Whitney and Boeing engineers. Several of the engine readings will be used to determine if equivalent engine performance was seen from the biofuel blend compared to typical Jet A-1 fuel.
December 17, 2008 in Aviation, Biomass, Fuels | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: Aussie | December 17, 2008 at 03:31 AM
If the real kost to remove all the airplane-CO2 would be accounted for in the ticket-price, we could fly completely green.
That would not be so much, since even coal-derived jet fuel (which is cheap and abundant) does not emit that much CO2.
If a price of 300$/ton would be set (which could easily pay for producing enough agrichar to remove the CO2), it would not even double the price of the fuel, so increasing the airplane ticket with only between 10 and 30%.
If cheaper ways of removing the CO2 are found or more efficient ways of producing biomass-derived fuel, the CO2-tax could deminish.
Posted by: Alain | December 17, 2008 at 08:00 AM
The beans are from the order Fabales (Leguminales) Legumonasae subfamily Faboideae Papilionoideae or alternately Fabaceae: pea family, (Papilionaceae.)
Camelina sativa is a member of the brassica family Brasicaceae, mustards,canola, broccoli.
High in omega 3 fatty acids rated very highly as a heart friendly healthy food (oil).
Grows in colder drier areas with low fertiliser requirements.
It may be more valuable as a food crop.
New biofuel crops are attracting interest but initial investigations by the Invasive Species Council (ISC) have found that many of these are potential major weeds- putting the economy and the environment at risk.
An ISC( Invasive Species Council) spokesman, Tim Low, said they have found that some of the plants being promoted by biofuel organisations in Australia to be serious weeds. "For example, a biodiesel company in Queensland has called on farmers to grow jatropha (also called physic nut), an Indian plant that is banned in Western Australia and the Northern Territory because of its weediness. "Jatropha is also closely related to bellyache bush - one of the worst weeds of grazing lands in northern Australia - and like bellyache bush it is poisonous to livestock. It could be a disaster if this plant was deliberately put in the ground as a crop in Australia," Mr Low said. Hitherto, its use has principally been as a constipation remedy.
Western Australia banned the plant in 2006 as invasive and highly toxic too ...BUT.......for Australia the case being developed by the Invasive Species Council against jatropha should be carefully examined. It is weedy........and can be very weedy!
Another account by a plant bbiology co. with affiliation with bio fuel co. writes;
On our recent trip to Far North Queensland to view Jatropha first planted by the Chinese gold miners, the harshness of the environment with which Jatropha can sustain became apparent. These planted are believed to be over 100 years of age and are still growing and producing fruit in the most adverse of conditions. The air temperature was in excess of 40 0C and the soil was mostly of rock substrate. These 100 year old trees had not shown any signs of invasiveness with the original patch all that was present. Even nearby cattle were seen grazing around these trees to no detriment. As inedible as Jatropha is, wildlife such as cattle aren't stupid enough to eat something that may not be palatable.
Jatropha was first introduced into Queensland around 1873 when gold deposits were first discovered. Chinese, in search of this gold, brought with them Jatropha plants which the oil produced from the fruits were burnt in their lanterns and stoves. These lanterns provided light through many hundreds of metres of tunnels excavated to find this gold.
Jatropha curcus oil has desirable physiochemical and performance characteristics as comparable to diesel. The oil is used as an illuminant without being refined and burns with a clean smoke free flame. The oil has very high saponification value and has been extensively used for making soaps in some countries. It is also used as an external application for skin diseases and sores for domestic live stock. The bark of Jatropha curcus yields a dark blue dye which is used for the colouring of clothes and various other things. Jatropha oil cake is high in nitrogen, phosphorus and pottassium which can be used for an organic fertiliser.
On our recent trip to Far North Queensland to view Jatropha first planted by the Chinese gold miners, the harshness of the environment with which Jatropha can sustain became apparent. These planted are believed to be over 100 years of age and are still growing and producing fruit in the most adverse of conditions. The air temperature was in excess of 40 0C and the soil was mostly of rock substrate. These 100 year old trees had not shown any signs of invasiveness with the original patch all that was present. Even nearby cattle were seen grazing around these trees to no detriment. As inedible as Jatropha is, wildlife such as cattle aren't stupid enough to eat something that may not be palatable.
Posted by: arnold | December 17, 2008 at 10:54 PM
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Land used for growing camelina could be used for growing other legumes like soy and canola. Note the spread of crop types - camelina in the bean family, jatropha a tree and algae an aquatic micro-organism. I think there is little chance that above ground vegetable oil could ever produce enough bio-jetfuel so really algae should be the main contributor not the smallest. The whole exercise is therefore a greenwash. Possibly enough jet fuel could be made from coal at acceptable environmental cost if coal wasn't used for anything else. That won't happen therefore air travel will eventually be confined to the rich just like the early days.