Eco-Aviation Channel

Camelina, algae biojet could be in production quantity soon

By Geoffrey Thomas
Eco-Aviation Today, May 18, 2009, p.1

Sustainable biofuels for the airline industry are just around the corner, say two suppliers that already have conducted successful inflight demonstrations.

Montana-based renewable fuels company Sustainable Oils, whose parent company Targeted Growth will present at the ATW-Leeham Co. Eco Aviation Conference in Washington May 26-28, says its lifecycle analysis of jet fuel created from camelina seeds developed by the company shows that the renewable fuel reduces carbon emissions by 84% compared to petroleum jet fuel. Separately, San Diego-based Sapphire Energy believes deployment of its "drop-in" replacement algae fuel will be achieved by 2011 (see next item).

The camelina research by Sustainable Oils in collaboration with UOP, a Honeywell company, was conducted at Michigan Tech University and based on camelina grown in Montana and processed into biojet fuel using UOP hydroprocessing technology. According to David Shonnard, professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech, "the data show the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions' reductions of using camelina in this manner is 84%. . .Camelina green jet exhibits one of the largest greenhouse gas emission reductions of any agricultural feedstock-derived biofuel I've ever seen."

Sustainable Oils GM Scott Johnson said the acreage the company has contracted for this year will be used "primarily to continue to develop the promising biojet market." He added, "Our success this year in planting thousands of acres of camelina specifically for this use will prepare us to supply the hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel we will need within five years. No other potential feedstock can provide as much fuel in as short a horizon."

The company said camelina is well-suited to be a sustainable biofuel crop as it "naturally contains high oil content while its oils are low in saturated fat and it is drought resistant and requires less fertilizer and herbicides." An important factor, Johnson said, is that it is an "excellent rotation crop with wheat, and it can also grow in marginal land." It is estimated that Montana alone could support between 2 and 3 million acres of camelina, generating 200-300 million gal. of oil each year.

Boeing MD-Environmental Strategy Billy Glover is bullish on camelina. "It is one of the most promising sources for renewable fuels that we've seen and it performed as well if not better than traditional jet fuel during our test flight with Japan Air Lines earlier this year."

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