{"id":8607,"date":"2014-01-21T13:23:34","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T20:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=8607"},"modified":"2014-01-21T13:23:34","modified_gmt":"2014-01-21T20:23:34","slug":"cost-competitive-sustainable-and-boeing-likes-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/cost-competitive-sustainable-and-boeing-likes-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost Competitive, Sustainable, and Boeing Likes It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Green Air Online<\/em> reports on \u201cwhat could be a significant breakthrough<\/a>,\u201d Boeing\u2019s identification of \u201cgreen\u201d Diesel as a new source of sustainable aviation biofuel.\u00a0 Green Diesel is similar chemically to current aviation biofuels, emits \u201cat least\u201d 50 percent less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel over its life cycle, and could be blended directly with existing fossil-based jet fuels.\u00a0 Similar to petrodiesel, this fuel has some specific definitions that distinguish it from \u201cbiodiesel.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Advanced Biofuels USA<\/a>, \u201cRenewable Diesel, often called \u201cgreen diesel\u201d or \u201csecond generation diesel,\u201d refers to petrodiesel-like fuels derived from biological sources that are chemically not esters and thus distinct from biodiesel. \u00a0Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, but made of recently living biomass.<\/p>\n

\"All<\/a>

All Nippon Airways’ chart shows decreasing CO2 emissions over an eight-year period. \u00a0Green Diesel fuel should help meet even more stringent goals. \u00a0RTK is Revenue Ton Kilogram, a measure of load-carrying efficiency<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201c\u2026Renewable diesel is chemically similar to petrodiesel\u2026 The term \u201crenewable diesel\u201d refers to all diesel fuels derived from biomass that meet the standards of ASTM D975 and are not mono-alkyl esters.\u201d\u00a0 The last line makes your editor again regretful he did not pay more attention in chemistry class.\u00a0 Simply, this type of green Diesel is a \u201cdrop-in\u201d fuel, requiring no changes in infrastructure and is\u00a0therefore transparent in its application for end users.<\/p>\n

Dr. James Kinder, a Technical Fellow in Boeing Commercial Airplanes\u2019 Propulsion Systems Division, explains, \u201cGreen diesel approval would be a major breakthrough in the availability of competitively priced, sustainable aviation fuel.\u00a0 We are collaborating with our industry partners and the aviation community to move this innovative solution forward and reduce the industry\u2019s reliance on fossil fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boeing says that current green Diesel production capacity can supply as much as one percent of global commercial jet fuel demand.\u00a0 Its price, around $3.00 per gallon, is competitive with petroleum jet fuel\u2019s current price of about $2.97 per gallon.<\/p>\n

\"Boeing<\/a>

Boeing notes at least 1,500 airline flights using “green” fuels in last few years<\/p><\/div>\n

Green diesel can be used in any diesel engine and is made from oils and fats derived from sustainable and non-food plants such as algae, which can produce 30 times the oil per acre of other feedstock crops; halophytes, which grow in salt marshes and other areas inhospitable to conventional agriculture; and plants such as jatropha and camelina, which thrive in normally non-arable land.\u00a0 These sources free arable land for food production for an increasingly hungry world. \u00a0NASA’a Dennis Bushnell <\/a>has expounded on these advantages in two talks at recent Electric Aircraft Symposia.<\/p>\n

Boeing collaborates <\/a>with 27 airlines in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, research institutions, governments and other stakeholders to develop sustainable biofuel supply chains around the world, including\u00a0the United States,\u00a0Middle East,\u00a0China,\u00a0Brazil,\u00a0Europe\u00a0and\u00a0Australia. \u00a0This group is \u201ccommitted to developing biofuel that is produced sustainably and without adverse impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, local food security, soil, water and air.\u201d<\/p>\n