Honeywell wins US Military biofuels contract

How much and how long does the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) BioFuels program think it will take to commercialize a new conversion process of vegetable and algal oils to jet fuel? About $6.7 million and 18 months. That's the amount of a contract that UOP, a Honeywell company, recently received for the purpose.

The goal, being worked on by companies other than UOP as well, is a biofuel that works as well as the kerosene-based JP-8. DARPA is calling for the bio-jet fuel to be produced "from biofeedstock with 90% conversion efficiency, by energy content, reducing waste and production costs," writes Graham Warwick in Flight Global.

Standard biodiesel, as users in cold climates know, gels in colder temperatures and jets need a fuel that is able to withstand temperatures down to -40°C. Jennifer Holmgren, director of UOP's renewable energy business unit, told Warwick that UOP will be able to produce a biofuel that can do this using its deoxygenation process.

You can read the UOP/Honeywell press release here.

Related:

• Fuel cell runs on synthetic JP-8 diesel fuel
• Air Force wants alternative fuel for planes
• Biodiesel jet fuels coming our way since at least 2001

[Source: Flight Global /

The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Graham Warwick]