Plan unveiled to make jet fuel from Canadian forestry waste

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The world’s largest aircraft manufacturer is collaborating with Canada’s aviation industry, the University of British Columbia and Amsterdam-based SkyNRG to turn forestry waste into sustainable aviation biofuel.

The project was announced Wednesday at the 2015 Canadian Bioeconomy Conference in Vancouver.

Boeing has in the past partnered with the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar Institute and the Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer to advance sustainable aviation biofuel development.

Under the latest initiative, a consortium that includes Boeing, Bombardier, Air Canada, WestJet, research institutions and industry partners will assess whether forestry waste could also be harnessed to produce sustainable aviation biofuel, Boeing said.

Thermochemical processing will be used for this, the company added.

“Sustainable aviation biofuel will play a critical role in reducing aviation’s carbon emissions over the long term,” said Julie Felgar, managing director of environmental strategy and integration at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Canada is in a terrific position to leverage its sustainable forests to make environmental progress for its aviation industry and other transport sectors.”

Boeing said a 2015 company-sponsored study by UBC had found that aviation biofuel made from forest waste could meet 10 per cent, or about 175 million liters, of British Columbia’s annual jet fuel demand.

The Green Aviation Research and Development Network of Canada is funding the project as part of a portfolio of investments in technologies to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that using sustainably produced biofuel will reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by 50 to 80 per cent compared to conventional petroleum fuel.

The images are courtesy of Boeing, UBC and GARDN.

Boeing expands ecoDemonstrator tests

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Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 757 has made its first flight with U.S.-made “green diesel,” expanding the testing and use of technologies to improve aviation’s environmental performance, the company said Friday.

The U.S. aircraft manufacturer said the 757 flew on June 17 from Seattle to NASA‘s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

The aircraft used a blend of 95 per cent petroleum jet fuel and five per cent sustainable green diesel, a biofuel used in ground transportation, it said. Green diesel is a different fuel product than “biodiesel.”

Two new environment-related technologies were also used in the flight:

• Solar and thermal energy harvesting to power electronic windows, as a way to reduce wiring, weight, fuel use and carbon emissions.

• On the 757’s flight deck, Boeing has installed a 3D-printed aisle stand made from excess carbon fibre from 787 production to reduce airplane weight and factory waste.

“With the ecoDemonstrator, Boeing looks to reduce environmental impact through the airplane’s lifecycle, from improving fuel efficiency and cutting carbon emissions to recycling production materials,” said Mike Sinnett, vice-president, product development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“In addition to our new technologies, flying the ecoDemonstrator 757 with U.S.-made green diesel is another positive step toward reducing our industry’s use of fossil fuel.”

Boeing said NASA and the TUI Group of Germany, the world’s largest integrated tourism company, were collaborating on the tests.

The ecoDemonstrator 787 made the first-ever flights with green diesel last December.

Since it was launched in 2011, the ecoDemonstrator Program has tested more than 50 technologies, with 737, 787 and 757 aircraft, Boeing said.

Boeing’s global initiatives to advance development of a sustainable aviation biofuel include a project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where it has partnered with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

Images are courtesy of Boeing and TUI Group.