The Future of Advanced Bio-Jet Fuel

Abstract: The aviation industry is growing rapidly and the carbon dioxide emissions from the industry are following in the same manner. Biofuels made from edible feedstock have had an impact on lowering the emissions but at the same time an impact on increasing food prices. There are a few alternative fuels on the market today (TF-SPK, HEFA-SPK) which work in a blend with the petroleum based fuels, reducing the emissions from the aircrafts. Biofuels from next generation biomass, also called advanced biomass, such as algae and lignin, seem likely to be a good substitute for the first generation biofuels. The advanced biofuels are relatively costly to produce. This is due to the many steps in the production process, which restricts the usage of these sorts of fuels in the aviation industry. There are some problems associated with a jet fuel produced from 100% biomass. This is because the jet fuel produced from biomass differs from the jet fuels used today, making it unsafe to use in modern day airplane engines. That is why it is important to find an alternative jet fuel based on biomass that has the same characteristics as the conventional jet fuel, to be able to use the same transportation and engines that are in use today. Otherwise the high cost of advanced bio-jet fuels will make them unusable.