An aviation biofuel (also known as bio-jet fuel[1] or bio-aviation fuel (BAF);[2]) is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers it a key element in reducing the environmental impact of aviation.[3] Aviation biofuel is used to decarbonize medium and long-haul air travel. These types of travel generate the most emissions, and could extend the life of older aircraft types by lowering their carbon footprint. Synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) refers to any non-petroleum-based fuel designed to replace kerosene jet fuel, which is often, but not always, made from biomass.
Biofuels are biomass-derived fuels from plants, animals, or waste; depending on which type of biomass is used, they could lower CO2 emissions by 20–98% compared to conventional jet fuel.[4]
The first test flight using blended biofuel was in 2008,and in 2011, blended fuels with 50% biofuels were allowed on commercial flights. In 2023 SAF production was 600 million liters, representing 0.2% of global jet fuel use.[5]
Aviation biofuel can be produced from plant or animal sources such as Jatropha, algae, tallows, waste oils, palm oil, Babassu, and Camelina (bio-SPK); from solid biomass using pyrolysis processed with a Fischer–Tropsch process (FT-SPK); with an alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) process from waste fermentation; or from synthetic biology through a solar reactor. Small piston engines can be modified to burn ethanol.
Sustainable biofuels are an alternative to electrofuels.[6] Sustainable aviation fuel is certified as being sustainable by a third-party organisation.
^Doliente, Stephen S.; et al. (10 July 2020). "Bio-aviation Fuel: A Comprehensive Review and Analysis of the Supply Chain Components" (PDF). Frontiers in Energy Research. 8. doi:10.3389/fenrg.2020.00110.
^Bauen, Ausilio; Howes, Jo; Bertuccioli, Luca; Chudziak, Claire (August 2009). "Review of the potential for biofuels in aviation". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.170.8750.
^IATA (December 2023). "Net zero 2050: sustainable aviation fuels – December 2023". www.iata.org/flynetzero. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024.
^Mark Pilling (2021-03-25). "How sustainable fuel will help power aviation's green revolution". Flight Global.
An aviationbiofuel (also known as bio-jet fuel or bio-aviation fuel (BAF);) is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)...
transport including 1% of aviation fuel. Demand for aviationbiofuel is forecast to increase. The two most common types of biofuel are bioethanol and biodiesel...
List of Aviationbiofuel demonstration flights. Dunn, Graham (24 February 2008). "Partners carry out first biofuel flight using Virgin 747". Flight International...
Sustainable biofuel is biofuel produced in a sustainable manner. It is not based on petroleum or other fossil fuels. It includes not using plants that...
or contrails. Aviationbiofuel, emissions trading and carbon offsetting, part of the ICAO's CORSIA, can lower CO2 emissions. Aviation usage can be lowered...
of renewable aviation fuel]. Arvopaperi (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 November 2020. "4.1 Service stations – Finnish Petroleum and Biofuels Association"...
fairly lengthy. Alternatives to conventional aviation fuel available in the near term include aviationbiofuel and synthetically created fuel (aka "e-jet")...
producer of biofuels from Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, the most mature and economically viable technology for commercial aviationbiofuels, and relies...
Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) was announced during 2023 G20 New Delhi summit on 9 September 2023 to promote the development and adoption of sustainable...
Force has experimented successfully with the use of beef tallow in aviationbiofuels. During five days of flight testing from August 23 to 27, 2010, at...
camelina biofuel and jet fuel at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Air Expo, the first time an entire military aviation unit flew on a biofuel mix. In...
Force. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 2022-03-27. "Beginner's Guide to AviationBiofuels" (PDF). Air Transport Action Group. May 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-20...
Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, DEG). Aviation fuels may be more widely replaced by biofuels such as jatropha oil than fuels for other forms...
215 nmi (398 km; 247 mi) range when also using generators powered by aviationbiofuel. A range of 430 nmi (800 km; 490 mi) could be possible if only 25 passengers...
construction in Oklahoma City and Atlanta. BP's subsidiary Air BP supplies aviationbiofuel at Oslo, Halmstad, and Bergen airports. BP owns a 43% stake in Lightsource...
to develop an aviationbiofuel for jet engines. On October 29, 2012, the first flight of a jet aircraft powered completely by biofuel, made from Brassica...
Whitney Canada to explore aviationbiofuels. This culminated in flying once from Toronto to Ottawa on a 50/50 blend of biofuel and jet fuel, the first such...
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels...
from aviation to rise in most projections, at least until 2040. They currently amount to 180 Mt of CO2 or 11% of transport emissions. Aviationbiofuel and...
available: therefore any bio-SNG made may be reserved for production of aviationbiofuel. A hydrogen infrastructure is the infrastructure of hydrogen pipeline...
military after the matter was made public. In a 2008 effort to develop an aviationbiofuel, Air New Zealand and Boeing researched the jatropha plant to see if...
tallow-based biodiesel per year by April 2009. In the effort to develop an aviationbiofuel, Air New Zealand and Boeing are researching the jatropha plant to see...
First-generation biofuels use the edible parts of food plants as their carbon source feedstock. Due to this, the production of fuel from these crops effectively...
viable as of 2024, while hybrids approaches such as a 50% blend of aviationbiofuel or utilising metal sails on cargo ships still rely on oil. Supplies...
addition to products derived from oil and gas, Repsol also produces aviationbiofuel from waste and biomass. The brands Repsol, CAMPSA, and Petronor market...
sustainability standards for biofuel in the European Union (EU) are set by the European Commissioner on Energy. Biofuels are considered a renewable alternative...
frequent ship calls, and heavy freeway and city traffic like Los Angeles. Aviationbiofuel mixed in with jetfuel at a 50/50 ratio can reduce jet derived cruise...
Issues relating to biofuel are social, economic, environmental and technical problems that may arise from biofuel production and use. Social and economic...
September 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration chose Washington state as the location for a national aviationbiofuel research center, the Center...
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