A Gulfstream G450 busi- ness jet, operated by US diversified tech-nology and manufacturing group Honeywell International, has become the first aircraft to fly the North Atlantic ocean, from the US to France, using biofuel as a power source. The G450 is powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay Mk 611-8C engines, each of which produces 61.6 kN of thrust, and the aircraft, at normal cruising speed, has a range of 8 056 km.

For this flight, from Morristown, New Jersey, to Le Bourget airport, in Paris, one of the aeroplane’s engines was fed with a 50:50 blend of Honeywell Green Jet Fuel and conventonal, petroleum-based jet fuel. The G450 took off from Morristown at 21:00 local time on Friday June 17 and landed at Le Bourget some seven hours later, on Saturday June 18. The aeroplane’s net carbon dioxide emissions were about 5.5 t less than those of a con-ventionally fuelled aircraft. The flight was also the first time a business jet had flown powered by biofuel.

“This first biofuel trip across the Atlantic, along with more than a dozen other commercial and military test flights conducted to date, demonstrates that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel more than meets the demanding require-ments for air travel,” enthused Honeywell UOP VP and renewable energy and chemicals GM Jim Rekoske. (UOP is Honeywell’s petroleum refining, gas processing and petrochemicals subsidiary). “Now that initial ASTM International [formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials] approval is in place, we are one step closer to commercial use that will help the aviation community reduce its carbon footprint and dependence on crude [oil].”

Gulfstream was also delighted. “[We are] committed to achieving business aviation’s ambitious goals on emissions reductions,” affirmed company senior VP: programmes, engineering and test Pres Henne. “These include carbon- neutral growth by 2020 and reduction in total carbon emissions of 50% by 2050 relative to 2005. “We are working with engine companies and other innovators, such as Honeywell, to ensure we can meet these initiatives. “We are very proud to participate in this historic demonstration.”

Honeywell Green Jet Fuel can be produced from a number of crops and, to date, the company has manufactured more than 700 000 US gallons (some 2 653 000 ℓ) of biofuel, from inedible feedstocks like algae, camelina and jatropha. The fuel used in the trans-atlantic flight was derived from camelina, which, although approved in the US as a cattle feed and as a component to chicken feeds, is not a human food crop. In the US, camelina is pro-duced in rotation with wheat but it can also be grown on marginal lands. The crop used as the feedstock for the fuel employed on this flight was raised and harvested by a US company specialising in technologies based on camelina, Sustainable Oils.

“With more than 500 000 gallons (1 895 000 ℓ) produced, camelina-based renewable jet fuel has been the most widely tested of any feedstock and has proven itself on more engine types and aircraft,” highlighted Sustainable Oils CEO Tom Todaro. “It’s the only sustainable feedstock that is widely and commercially available today. We are proud to partner with Honeywell on this historic flight.”

So far, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel has been used in 16 test flights and has shown that it fulfils all flight specifications for both military and commercial aircraft, without needing any alterations to the aeroplanes or their engines. Development of this biofuel started in 2007 under a contract from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency aimed at the production of military jet fuel. The production process is based on hydroprocessing technology, often used in refineries to make fuels for transport applications. The result is an aviation biofuel that can be blended “seamlessly” with conven-tional, petroleum-based fuel.

Symbolically, the course of the first transatlantic biofuel flight followed closely the route of the first solo transatlantic flight by Charles Lindbergh in 1927.

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