Regular readers of the blog will know I’m always on the lookout for interesting stories about renewable energy sources or biofuels, especially when the long term application is potentially going to result some significant movement away from fossil fuels or carbon emissions. Whenever I see a military aircraft on a training flight over the desert here in Arizona I can’t help but wonder just how much fuel is being burned up to put those pilots through their paces. Beyond training of course the USAF consumes a huge amount of jet fuel every year as part of their normal operations, but the good news is that there is a significant change coming.

In keeping with other government funded bodies, the air force has been tasked with becoming more environmentally concerned and as they are leaders in aeronautical technology a move toward biofuels to power aircraft is top of that agenda. An overall goal has been published tasking the air force with converting fuel use to at least 50% biofuels in the years ahead. While the overall fuel consumption is significantly lower than fuel aviation the inspiring part of this change is that many successes could ultimately be transferred to commercial aircraft when proven to be viable. NASA in conjunction with the USAF are conducting fuel and aircraft testing at the Dryden Flight Research Centre in California. Biofuels are being tested on NASA aircraft to gauge efficiency and performance when powered by a series of new modified fuel blends.

NASA are very optimistic about test results what they are calling Hydrotreated Renewable Jet Fuel, project scientist Bruce Anderson explains more:

“It’s made out of chicken fat, actually. The Air Force bought many thousands of gallons of this to burn in some of their jets and provided about 8,000 gallons (30,283 liters) to NASA for this experiment.”

The team will be testing 50/50 mixes of biofuel and jet fuel in addition to biofuel only and monitoring the performance and results. A team effort prevails at the testing ground with representatives outside of the air force and NASA from private industries, academics and other federal branches. These new wave of testing is in some ways comparable to jet engine testing and improvements that were made from the 1940′s onwards with the benefits potentially there to be shared by the entire aviation industry. In addition to fuel performance the testing will evaluate the emissions from various synthetic blends over the course of the project. While the military have already started to use biofuels for some cargo and fighter aircraft the next level of testing is critical if the 50% target is to be reached in the years ahead. Whether it comes from corn or chicken fat isn’t the key factor but finding the right biofuel blend to change the industry will be a giant leap forward as Ruben Del Rosario of NASA stated:

“The use of alternative fuels, including biofuels, in aircraft is a key element for substantially reducing the impact of aviation on the environment and for reducing the dependency on foreign petroleum,”