The U.S. Air Force's goal of acquiring 50 percent of its domestic aviation fuel via alternative fuel blends derived from domestic sources by 2016 got a boost on Friday March 18, when an F-22 Raptor was successfully flown at speeds of up to Mach 1.5 on a 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 (Jet Propellant 8) and biofuel derived from an inedible plant called camelina. The flight capped off a series of ground and flight tests carried out earlier in the week for the Raptor using the biofuel blend to evaluate its suitability in the F-22 weapons system.
Testing consisted of air starts, operability and performance at different speeds and altitudes. The test flight saw the F-22 Raptor perform several maneuvers, including a supercruise (a supersonic flight without using the engine's afterburner) at 40,000 feet reaching speeds of Mach 1.5.
"The F-22 flew on Friday, March 18 and performed flawlessly on the biofuel blend citing no noticeable differences from traditional JP-8," said Jeff Braun, director of the Air Force'sAlternative Fuels Certification Division.
The biofuel was derived from camelina sativa, a member of the mustard family and a distant relative to canola. It is a fast growing crop that can survive on little water and requires less fertilizer than many other crops. Studies have shown that camelina-based jet fuel reduces carbon emissions by around 80 percent. Additionally, its meal – what is left after oil has been extracted from the seed – has been approved by the USDA for livestock and poultry feed.
Camelina-derived synthetic fuel has been used to power a variety of military and commercial aircraft, including Europe's first biofuel-powered passenger flight in 2009. It falls into a class of hydroprocessed blended biofuels known as hydrotreated renewable jet fuels (HRJs) that can be derived from a variety of plant oil and animal fat feedstocks.
In February, Air Force officials certified its entire C-17 Globemaster III fleet for unrestricted flight operations using the HRJ biofuel blend. The success of the F-22 Raptor biofuel-powered flight suggests further similar certifications won't be far behind.
the need of water, fertilizer and soil quality is not required at the same level to farming edible products. Soil of poorer quality can be put to use to grow vegitable sources that
are,though inedible, they will have a growing and valuble social need . Energy.
The experiment of camelina as a jet propellant will not be limited to military usage.
The test of these biofuel sources will have valuble impact on comercial transportation
such as Southwestern Airlines, automobiles , trucks, motorcycles and the like.
My question is why is it taking so long for The U.S. to see the potential of Bio-fuels
in comparrison to carbon based energy sources. The resourcesare just as plentiful
to harness as fossil fuel sources.
Iggy, what are you talking about? Yes, camelina oil is edible. Just like canola oil. Do you know of anyone who eats canola seeds? Refined cottonseed oil is also usable for cooking. Raw cottonseed can be toxic for humans, but is fine for cattle feed, so yes, there are seeds that are inedible for humans yet usable for cooking oil. Please learn something before you embarrass yourself further.
It\'s not you, you are not crazy. I am reading the other posts and scratching my head as well. It is almost as if they cannot read, but, have somehow managed to learn to type. It\'s a scientific anomaly to be sure.
Most of them probably don\'t even realize that this IN-TER-NET thing that they are consuming was created, and funded, by the U.S. Department of Defense. So, if it weren\'t for those \'death-dealing\' weapon mongers, or whatever Janet called them, she wouldn\'t have a forum to spew her ineptitude.
The article is encouraging because we (the U.S. Air Force) are spending money on something with a broad range of potential applications. Someone had asked why were aren\'t doing more with BioFuels. Doesn\'t this article prove that we are trying to do more with them? We have learned that Corn is not economical or sustainable and has many other issues mentioned above (arable land, crop depletion, etc.). It seems that this is a step towards finding sustainable and economical solutions to BioFuels. Of course, the article didn\'t mention what it costs, but what it costs today isn\'t really all that relevant anyway.
To the people arguing that biofuels waste land and energy on plants that won\'t feed humans... If you\'ve read the article at all, it explains that the plant (camelina) requires much less fertile land than other staple crops, and requires less water. I would rather have people develop biofuel from a crop that doesn\'t need water or fertilizer, than from crops such as corn that require a ton of fertilizer, and quite frankly, would be better served in feeding the starving populations of the world than for ethanol in our SUVs.