Greentech Lead America: Gevo, a renewable chemicals and next-generation
biofuels company, announced that it has provided fuel for the first successful
“alcohol-to-jet” (ATJ) fuel test flight. The flight utilized a fuel blend of 50
percent ATJ fuel and 50 percent JP-8 produced by Gevo.
Gevo has worked with the Air Force Research
Laboratories (AFRL), the Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification Division
(AFCD) and the 40 Flight-Test Squadron for the project.
The USAF flew an A-10 Thunder Bolt jet aircraft for the
test. A series of flight test maneuvers, throttle bodies, auxiliary power unit
(APU) starts and engine assisted starts were performed. The A-10 is a
single-seat aircraft powered by two high-bypass GE TF34 turbofan engines. A
Honeywell 36-50 APU is used for engine starting and in flight emergency power
generation.
Gevo’s ATJ fuel is truly a drop-in fuel, designed to be
fully compliant with aviation fuel specifications and provide equal
performance, including fit-for-purpose properties.
With this successful test flight,
Gevo claims that it has proven ATJ fuel is a technically viable and promising
alternative for both military and commercial applications.
“This is a great accomplishment for the USAF, Gevo and
the biofuels industry. We’ve validated that ATJ from isobutanol is a clean
burning, homegrown, drop-in jet fuel. The USAF’s flight has taken the industry
one step closer to full commercialization. We remain committed to
commercialization and believe we have the most economic route to deliver
aviation biofuels at scale,” said Chris Ryan, chief operating officer and
president.
Last year, Gevo won the contract to provide the USAF
11,000 gallons of its ATJ fuel derived from isobutanol for testing by the AFCD.
Gevo joins forces with VP Racing Fuels to develop and market
specialty fuel blends
Recently, Gevo partnered with VP Racing Fuels, a provider
of performance fuel technology and high-quality specialty fuel blends, to
jointly evaluate the commercial potential for isobutanol in a wide array of
markets
editor@greentechlead.com