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EmailHoneywell Green Jet Fuel Powers Green Hornet For Biofuels Certification Flight
- Fuel produced using process technology from Honeywell's UOP under contract from U.S. Defense Energy Support Center
The F/A-18 Super Hornet, dubbed the Green Hornet by the Navy, was fueled with a 50/50 mixture of Green Jet Fuel made from camelina oil and petroleum-derived military jet fuel. The flight was held at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Patuxent River, Md., and was attended by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. This is one of a series of biofuel test flights that will be conducted by the Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet test program and marks the first flight of a supersonic jet with afterburners flying on a biofuels blend.
The fuel was produced by Honeywell's UOP business unit using its Green Jet Fuel process technology under a project for U.S. Defense Energy Support Center (DESC). Honeywell's UOP is producing up to 190,000 gallons of fuel for the Navy and 400,000 gallons for the U.S. Air Force from sustainable, non-food feedstocks, including animal fats, algae and camelina.
The Navy plans a total of 17 flights as part of the certification program. The Air Force is undergoing similar testing and held its first demonstration flight with an A-10 Thunderbolt II in March. The aircraft also flew with a 50/50 blend of Green Jet Fuel made from camelina and petroleum-derived military jet fuel in both engines.
"These flights are critical to demonstrating the viability of fuels made from non-food, sustainable feedstocks and enabling the certification of Green Jet Fuel for military aircraft," said Jennifer Holmgren, vice president and general manager of UOP's Renewable Energy & Chemicals business. "We have already proven that our technology produces a viable fuel in commercial flight applications and look forward to the results of these certification tests."
Source : Honeywell International, Inc. (NYSE: HON)
