Honeywell’s renewable jet fuel — which offers a 65 to 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to petroleum-based fuels — has powered demonstration flights by Gulfstream Aerospace to this year’s National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention.
Five Gulfstream aircraft traveled on October 27 and 28 from Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, Ga., to Orlando, Fla., for the NBAA convention, the world’s largest civil aviation tradeshow.
Both engines of the aircraft were powered by a 50/50 blend of Honeywell Green Jet Fuel, produced using Honeywell’s UOP Renewable Jet Fuel process, and petroleum-derived jet fuel. The renewable fuel was made with oils from camelina, an inedible plant that grows in conditions where other food crops cannot.
This, according to UOP, a Honeywell company, marked the first time that all Gulfstream models have flown on renewable jet fuel.
Gulfstream G150, G280, G450, G550 and G650 aircraft participated in the flights. Previously, the G450 was the only Gulfstream aircraft flown using renewable jet fuel.
Each gallon of camelina-based Honeywell Green Jet Fuel burned instead of petroleum reduces net CO2e emissions by 68 percent, Honeywell says. Depending on the feedstock, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel can reduce GHG emissions up to 85 percent, compared to petroleum-based fuels.
When used as part of a 50 percent blend with petroleum-based jet fuel, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel is a drop-in replacement that requires no changes to aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight, Honeywell says.
The company’s Renewable Jet Fuel Process technology was originally developed in 2007 under a contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to produce renewable military jet fuel for the US military. The process technology is fully compatible with existing hydroprocessing technology commonly used in today’s refineries to produce transportation fuels, the company says.
In 2011, a Honeywell-operated Gulfstream G450 became the first aircraft to fly from North America to Europe with a 50/50 blend of Honeywell Green Jet Fuel and petroleum-based jet fuel, powering one of the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines. It was also the first business jet to be powered by a biofuel.
In June, supplier Haldor Topsoe selected UOP to install technology at the Antipinsky Refinery in Russia to will recover and purify hydrogen to help produce cleaner fuels more efficiently.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/10/31/honeywell-renewable-fuel-powers-gulfstream-fleet/