{"id":12147,"date":"2019-06-03T18:57:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T01:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=12147"},"modified":"2019-06-03T18:57:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T01:57:42","slug":"clean-jet-fuel-from-the-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/clean-jet-fuel-from-the-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Clean Jet Fuel from the Air?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What if we could suck carbon from the air, make clean jet fuel out of it, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using this fuel in our airliners?\u00a0 That\u2019s a dream pursued by many researchers, and recently Rotterdam the Hague Airport announced a study<\/a> to sort out the plausibility of such a plan.\u00a0 First, though, we need to look at the numbers for how much fossil fuel would have to be replaced.<\/p>\n

These are Big Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

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How much fuel goes into a large jetliner?<\/a>\u00a0 How efficiently is it used?\u00a0 These are matters of concern to airline executives on a profit-and-loss basis, and to all of us on an environmental basis.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner variants for an idea of how efficient a modern airliner can be.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The 787-8 burns 4,900 kilograms (10,780 pounds) per hour or Jet A, while the larger 7879 consumes 5,600 kilograms (12,320 pounds) per hour.<\/p>\n

Converting pounds (the way the military and airlines count fuel use) to gallons, a conservative reading of 6.8 pounds per gallon shows that the 787s consume 1,596\u00a0 to 1,812 gallons per hour.\u00a0 The airplane can hold up to 330 people depending on configuration.\u00a0 This makes fuel burn under six gallons per hour per passenger.\u00a0 Try driving 550 miles on six gallons in your family car.\u00a0\u00a0 Most hybrids can\u2019t manage 91 miles per gallon even while being feather footed.\u00a0 So, large airliners can be very efficient.<\/a><\/p>\n

Smaller airliners, such as the 737, range in capacity from 110 to 189, but run shorter routes than aircraft like the Dreamliner.\u00a0 They therefore use more fuel for more takeoffs and many have earlier, less efficient engines.\u00a0 Still, \u00a0As efficient as jet airliners can be compared to even a Prius on a passenger-mile basis \u2013 we are burning a lot of fuel and creating tons of emissions.\u00a0 100,000 flights a day worth.<\/p>\n

Rotterdam\u2019s The Hague Airport has imitated a study for production of renewable jet fuel from the air itself.\u00a0 Noting that jet aircraft cannot immediately switch from fossil fuels to electric or other alternative, the airport explains the rationale for the new project.\u00a0 \u201cThe aviation industry is an emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and air travel continues to increase. This also applies to Rotterdam The Hague Airport, where the number of passengers keeps growing every year. Unlike cars, airplanes cannot switch to electric or hydrogen propulsion in the short-term. Rotterdam The Hague Airport is therefore proud to kick-start the realization and commissioning of this plant for the production of renewable jet fuel from air.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Retrieving CO2 from the air and “upcycling” it into jet fuel is meant to reduce the total CO2 in the ari<\/p><\/div>\n

With Innovation as its middle name, the Rotterdam Hague Innovation Airport (RHIA) is joined by SkyNRG, which fashions itself as the market leader for aviation fuel solutions.\u00a0 Transavia, a budget airline based in the Netherlands, has announced it will be the first customer for the products produced.\u00a0 \u00a0SkyNRG will be producing clean aviation fuel on-site at RHIA, at least partly from CO2 pulled from the surrounding atmosphere.\u00a0 \u00a0Partners expect to crank out about 1,000 liters (264.17 U. S. gallons) of renewable jet fuel per day, a vert small drop in the very large bucket of overall need.<\/p>\n