{"id":11187,"date":"2016-11-24T10:17:38","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T17:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11187"},"modified":"2016-11-24T10:17:38","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T17:17:38","slug":"gleaning-the-forests-for-jet-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/gleaning-the-forests-for-jet-fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"Gleaning the Forests for Jet Fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three congresspeople flew on wood-waste fumes this week, aboard an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 on its way from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEATAC) to Washington, DC<\/a>.\u00a0 It was the first commercial flight to \u201cto be powered by a blend of renewable jet fuel made from forest residuals.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"20-percent

20-percent alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel made from forest waste goes into Washington, DC-bound 737-800<\/p><\/div>\n

Waste Products Replace Fossil Fuels<\/h4>\n

Alaska, Boeing, and SEATAC have partnered on including biofuels in the mix since early 2015, as reported here<\/a>.\u00a0 Later that year, United made flights out of Los Angeles International (LAX) using a blend of fossil-based jet fuel and biofuels made from farm and municipal waste.\u00a0 Keeping waste out of landfills and producing a lower carbon-footprint fuel has several benefits.\u00a0 In the case of forest waste, those branches, limbs and twigs that litter the forest floor after a timber harvest, cleaning that debris away lowers fire risk in the warm seasons and makes renewable isobutanol.<\/p>\n

Developed through a five-year project led by Washington State University and the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) initiative and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the program is now nearing completion.\u00a0 This first flight on the 1,080 gallons produced so far marks a practical demonstration of the fuel\u2019s viability.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-F-bYf7NmUw<\/p>\n

Funded with $39.6 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) \u00a0\u201cTo support research on biofuels and biochemical, foster regional supply chain coalitions, empower rural economic development and educate the public on the benefits of bioenergy,\u201d the project comprises 32 member organizations from industry, academia and government laboratories.<\/p>\n

Good Enough for Dignitaries<\/h4>\n

GreenAir quoted some distinguished passengers.\u00a0 \u201cThree members of the House of Representatives were on the flight, including Congresswoman Suzan DelBene. \u2018This flight demonstrates that Washington state\u2019s innovation economy is once again at the forefront of collaborative, transformative research by using material that would otherwise be discarded to create a new biofuel,\u2019 she said. \u2018We have a tremendous opportunity in our region to build a new green economy and find innovative solutions to address climate change for our health and future generations, as this project highlights.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUS Senator for Washington, Maria Cantwell: \u2018The flight comes after years of investments to help the aviation biofuels industry take off. By creating these sustainable biofuels, we will revitalize our rural agriculture communities, foster economic growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cur our dependence on foreign oil while growing our competitiveness in global markets.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

NARA Executive Director Ralph Cavalieri said, \u201cThis flight is a tribute to all of our NARA partners, and especially to NIFA who supported our mission to facilitate the revolutionary development of biojet and bioproduct industries in the Pacific Northwest using forest residuals that would otherwise become waste products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gevo CEO Pat Gruber added<\/a>, \u201cWe are pleased that we had the opportunity to prove, through the NARA project, that cellulosic sugars from wood can be used to successfully make commercial jet fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gevo

Gevo lab workers in Englewood, Colorado test wood-based fuel<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0GreenAirOnline reports<\/a>, \u201cAlaska and Gevo have already partnered on commercial biofuel flights from Seattle to San Francisco and Washington DC in June this year that used a 20% Alcohol to Jet (ATJ) blend derived from sustainable non-edible field corn grown in South Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaska Airlines<\/a>\u00a0Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations, Joe Sprague, said the biofuel used on yesterday\u2019s flight was \u201cespecially exciting since it is uniquely sourced from forest residuals in the Pacific Northwest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, one flight with 20-percent biofuel will not cure rising emissions, but \u201cthe airline said if it were able to replace 20% of its entire fuel supply at Seattle-Tacoma, it would reduce CO2 emissions by about 142,000 tons per year.\u201d<\/p>\n