UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, recently announced that its process technology was used to convert second-generation, renewable feedstocks to green jet fuel that will be used on a demonstration flight by Air New Zealand.
UOP collaborated with Air New Zealand, Boeing and Rolls-Royce to produce and test renewable jet fuel made from the oil of jatropha plants. The flight will be the first ever of a commercial airliner powered by sustainable, second-generation renewable resources. The green jet fuel will be mixed 50/50 with Jet A1 and will power one of the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400’s Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.
"We must diversify our fuel supply to meet the rapid growth in energy demand while effectively balancing social and environmental needs," said Jennifer Holmgren, general manager of UOP’s Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit. "This team has stepped up to do something about the rapidly evolving energy landscape, and, as a result, we could see viable commercial-scale production and usage of biofuels in the aviation industry in a matter of just a few years."
Jatropha, an inedible plant that can grow in conditions where other food crops cannot, is considered a sustainable, second-generation resource because its cultivation and harvesting does not tax valuable food, land or water resources. It can also provide socioeconomic benefit to the regions where it is grown.
For more information, visit www.honeywell.com.
