Fill 'Er Up: Steel Mills Might One Day Become the Gas Stations for Commercial Jets
09/16/2016 - A U.S. company that is developing technology to convert carbon-based waste gasses into biofuels and chemicals says it has produced 1,500 gallons of jet fuel from steel mill emissions.
According to the company, LanzaTech, the fuel was derived from carbon monoxide, converted into ethanol via a fermentation process and then converted to aviation fuel. The company said that each gallon of ethanol yielded a half-gallon of jet fuel.
“We can now truly imagine a world where a steel mill can not only produce the steel for the components of the plane but also recycle its gases to produce the fuel that powers the aircraft,” said LanzaTech chief executive Jennifer Holmgren in a statement.
LanzaTech has been working with several partners on the project, including Virgin Atlantic Ltd.
“This is a real game changer for aviation and could significantly reduce the industry’s reliance on oil within our lifetime,” said Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson in a statement.
“We will keep working with Boeing and many other aviation industry colleagues on additional testing, before approving the fuel for first use in a commercial aircraft. If that all goes well, the innovative LanzaTech jet fuel could be used in a first of its kind ‘proving flight’ next year. If this was successful, we would seek approval to use the fuel on routine commercial flights. This would also help pave the way for LanzaTech to fund and build their first commercial jet fuel plant, hopefully in the U.K., to supply fuel to Virgin Atlantic and other airlines,” he said.
The New Zealand Herald has some more details here.
“We can now truly imagine a world where a steel mill can not only produce the steel for the components of the plane but also recycle its gases to produce the fuel that powers the aircraft,” said LanzaTech chief executive Jennifer Holmgren in a statement.
LanzaTech has been working with several partners on the project, including Virgin Atlantic Ltd.
“This is a real game changer for aviation and could significantly reduce the industry’s reliance on oil within our lifetime,” said Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson in a statement.
“We will keep working with Boeing and many other aviation industry colleagues on additional testing, before approving the fuel for first use in a commercial aircraft. If that all goes well, the innovative LanzaTech jet fuel could be used in a first of its kind ‘proving flight’ next year. If this was successful, we would seek approval to use the fuel on routine commercial flights. This would also help pave the way for LanzaTech to fund and build their first commercial jet fuel plant, hopefully in the U.K., to supply fuel to Virgin Atlantic and other airlines,” he said.
The New Zealand Herald has some more details here.
