U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aircraft demonstration is first to be powered by Honeywell Green Jet Fuel
May 23, 2011
DES PLAINES, Ill., 23 May 2011. Honeywell Green Jet Fuel from UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, powered two Air Force F-16 aircraft in a Thunderbirds demonstration at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Two Thunderbird aircraft, during a Joint Services Open House on May 20 and 21, flew a 50/50 blend of Honeywell Green Jet Fuel made from camelina and petroleum-based jet fuel. The weekend event marked the first use of an alternative fuel blend by an air demonstration team.
Camelina is grown and harvested for the Air Force by Sustainable Oils LLC. This inedible, second-generation plant source for biofuels does not deplete food, land, or water resources.
The Air Force has certified Honeywell Green Jet fuel for use with the C-17 Globemaster III and the F-16 aircraft. The fuel was demonstrated on the A-10 Thunderbolt, the F-15 Eagle, and the F-22 Raptor platforms.
Honeywell UOP produced 400,000 gallons of Green Jet Fuel from sustainable, non-food sources for the Air Force as part of a joint program for the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency–Energy (DLA-E) for alternative fuels testing and certification.
"The Air Force has clearly shown its commitment to diversified sources of energy through biofuels testing and certification," says Jim Rekoske, vice president and general manager of Renewable Energy and Chemicals for Honeywell's UOP. "We are proud to have successfully supported each of these efforts and that the Thunderbirds can continue their superior legacy using our Green Jet Fuel."
Honeywell UOP was the prime contractor or subcontractor on DLA-E contracts to produce almost 600,000 gallons of renewable jet fuel for the U.S. Navy and Air Force in October 2009. Working with feedstock partners Sustainable Oils, Solazyme, and Cargill, Honeywell UOP process technology was used to produce 190,000 gallons of fuel for the Navy and 400,000 gallons for the Air Force from animal fats, algae, and camelina.
Honeywell UOP's Green Jet Fuel process technology was developed in 2007 under a contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to produce renewable military jet fuel for the U.S. military.
