World’s First 100% Renewable Jet Fuel is Created
The Department of Defense funded the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) to create the world’s first renewable jet fuel, and the mission had been accomplished.
It didn’t surprise me to learn that the Department of Defense is the number one consumer of petroleum in America. And so neither did it surprise me to learn that the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) was granted a $4.7 million contract by the Department of Defense to research alternative and renewable sources of fuel.
My interest was piqued when, a few days ago, the EERC claimed to have invented the world’s first 100% renewable jet fuel.
JP-8 fuel is a petroleum-based fuel currently in wide use by the military. The EERC has created a substitute for the fuel, using renewable feedstock made from agricultural products and/or waste oils. The process developed by the EERC can produce propane, gasoline, jet fuel and diesel that are identical to the fuels derived from petroleum.
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“The EERC is now uniquely positioned to provide drop-in-compatible JP-8 fuel from both fossil and renewable feedstocks, providing critical strategic opportunities for the U.S. military as well as commercial aviation,” said EERC Director Gerald Groenewold.
With a keen interest in moving towards large-scale production of the fuel, the EERC is currently engaged in talks with the private sector to accomplish just such a feat.
In the past, the EERC has worked on many projects including: clean coal technologies, CO2 sequestration, energy and water sustainability, wind energy, biomass, water management and flood prevention. They are based at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.
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Source: EEERC Website
Image Credit: image from flickr.com under a Creative Commons Attribution License
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Meg Hamill who works as a freelance writer, and at the environmental non-profit LandPaths, in Santa Rosa, California.
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Hey Meg - I don’t doubt you when you make the claim that the DoD is “the number one consumer of petroleum in America”, but how about a link to the place/places that can verify/amplify on that claim?
Link to generic DoD website - not so useful.
I think you raise some very valid points here.
http://www.anonweb.eu.tc
Very interesting. Sounds an awful lot like swiftfuel, developed by John and Mary Rusek from Indiana and mentioned in Cringley’s column a few weeks back:
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2008/pulpit_20080606_005036.html
The DoD is the largest government user of fuel - because of air and ground operations of the Air Force. Duh. They are also one of the leading organizations in the world in developing alternative fuels in all areas, earning the 2005 EPA Green Power Leadership Award for its renewable energy program. Anyone who wants to critize the DoD or Air Force for their fuel consumption should read the PDF below and realize that the largest CONSUMERS of fuel are the ones most likely to develop alternative fuels in the U.S.A. because it is a FREE MARKET (for now anyway).
http://www.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060627-012.pdf
http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/petroleumproducts.html
The DOD may be the largest “single” consumer, but that is kind of missleading.
The DOD uses less than industry, so if you were to consider “industry” a “single” entity as well, then DOD would not be the #1 consumer.
Just as “industry” is made up of many different sub-organizations, so is the DOD.
I’m all for “renewable fuel” as long as it doesn’t cut into food supplies. Let’s try feeding humanity before we feed jets.
Any word on how much this new fuel costs? what will the price of oil have to jump to for this to be competitive?
I view this as good news. How many technologies were developed by the military that now have everyday uses in the civilian world? GPS, the Internet, Hummers, to name just a few. Once the DoD gets on board and starts using renewables, it will trickle down into the rest of the economy.