Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic was an early user of green jet fuels.
The aviation industry is starting to break ground when it comes to cutting its carbon footprint. Just two years ago, the first commercial flight took place using renewable fuels — jet fuel produced from recycled waste carbon. It was a Virgin Atlantic Airline Boeing 747 flight from Orlando to London.
Carbon recycling is coming to the fore as multiple global companies are applying for patents. Most of us know about capturing and burying emissions. But many of us are only beginning to learn about recycling them. If renewable aviation fuels are to take off, then airlines must expand their commitments with bio-refineries.
“I believe it is possible to get fuels with net-zero emissions because the technology is available,” says Patrick R. Gruber, chief executive of Gevo, a renewable fuels company based in Englewood, Colo., in an interview. “We know what the outcome has to be: it has to run planes and it has to displace carbon. You don’t have to change the engine and there is no need to change the infrastructure. The jet fuel needs to be certified and it needs to work on all engines and platforms.”
Jet fuels are produced from crude oil. To be considered renewable, about half of its contents must come from biofuels such as ethanol that is made from corn or wood chips. In Gevo’s case, it has a plant in Minnesota that produces renewable fuels from ethanol. And right now, it has about 15 million gallons under contract — an amount that it expects to exceed 50 million gallons in the coming years. It has contracts with Delta and Scandinavian Airlines.
Jet Blue has plans to use renewable aviation fuels as early as this year — something that it says will reduce its carbon footprint by 80% when compared to traditional jet fuel. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, meanwhile, says that it will enter a 10-year contract to buy sustainable fuels. In both cases, the supplier of the fuel is Neste, which produces sustainable fuels from waste and residue raw materials.
As for the Virgin Atlantic flight, it was made possible by LanzaTech, which produces an advanced carbon recycling technology. It converts waste carbon gases into ethanol and chemicals — all in collaboration with the national labs and specifically with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL developed the processes to convert the ethanol into a clean jet fuel that emits fewer CO2 emissions across the fuel’s lifecycle, says the Department of Energy.
“This flight was years in the making and could not have happened without great minds in science, business, government, and industry coming together to create alternative jet fuel that could serve consumers, provide economic opportunities, and capture carbon for a second use,” says the Energy Department. “Waste carbon is proving to be a beneficial source of cleaner-burning jet fuel.”
Look to the Defense Sector
Sandia National Labs has also been building a prototype to turn CO2 into transportation fuels using concentrated solar power. After coal is burned, for example, the CO2 would be captured and reduced to carbon monoxide using its technology. That would then become a feedstock for making gasoline, jet fuel, methanol, or any type of liquid fuel.
Aviation now accounts for 15% of global oil demand, says the International Energy Agency and it is anticipated to make up 3.5% of global CO2 releases by 2030. The agency says that the aviation industry has committed to reducing its heat-trapping emissions by 50% by 2050, from its 2005 baseline.
Moreover, the aviation fuel market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 56% between 2020 and 2025, says Reportlinker. It adds that a formal program is in place to offset carbon emissions, which will prompt the use of more renewable fuels. The defense sector is expected to drive that growth — an industry that now consumes 4.8 billion gallons of jet fuel and diesel each year. Honeywell is a company that services the defense industry.
To be sure, renewable aviation fuels are more expensive than traditional jet fuels. It is notable because fuel costs make up 22% of an airline’s overhead — the largest single expense, the International Energy Agency says.
But Gevo’s Gruber says that the key is to look at the production of renewable aviation fuels from “cradle-to-grave.” It starts with paying farmers to produce crops using sustainable agricultural practices. And then it extends to how the plants that convert the ethanol to clean jet fuel are run. As for Gevo, it generates heat and power from livestock manure — a process that captures methane and extracts it using an “anaerobic digester.”
“It is economical if you are compensated for reducing CO2,” says Gruber, referring to the lifecycle for sustainable jet fuels. “States like California and Oregon are motivating companies to reduce their carbon, which could be a national model for valuing carbon. We have to track everything along the value chain.”
The aviation industry is getting swept into the international movement to reduce CO2 emissions. By using renewable jet fuels derived ultimately from waste carbon and ethanol, it can make its mark. But the airlines need to get fully on board and be convinced to enter into long-term contracts with the bio-refineries that produce those sustainable products.
