Taiwan's Feng Chia University has succeeded in boosting the production of hydrogen from biomass to 15 liters per hour, one of the world's highest biohydrogen production rates, a researcher at the university said Friday. The research team managed to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide (which can be captured and stored) from the fermentation of different strains of anaerobes in a sugar cane-based liquefied mixture. The highest yield was obtained by the Clostridium bacterium.
French aerospace organisations launch aviation biofuels research project
Major aerospace manufacturers, governments, airlines, research organisations and service companies are currently researching the use of bio-based fuels for aviation, to mitigate the effects of increasing fuel prices and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from air transport. Emissions from aviation currently account for about 3% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, but they are increasing fast – by 87% since 1990 – as air travel becomes cheaper without its environmental costs being addressed.A French alternative-fuels project is joining efforts to green the industry, by laboratory-scale testing of blended fuels, second-generation biofuels and other candidates. The project, known as CALIN is being initiated by a conglomerate of research organisations consisting of France's aerospace research agency ONERA, propulsion company Snecma and members of the country's Aerospace Valley group.
CALIN is to be launched by the Aerospace Valley group of businesses from the Midi-Pyrenees and Aquitaine areas of south-west France, and will improve the understanding of the different fuels' kinetic properties, emissions and combustion characteristics to help computer modelling. The Aerospace Valley group unites most of Europe's leading aerospace manufacturers, including EADS, Airbus, Air France Industries, Alstom and Dassault.
Even though are no demonstration engines or flight trials involved, Snecma recently succeeded in testing a CFM56-7B jet engine with an ester-based biofuel at a Snecma site in Villaroche. The engine is produced by a joint venture between Snecma, CFM International, and General Electric Company. The fuel used was a methylester derived from plant oil, mixed with 70% Jet-A1 kerosene. The successful test with the unmodified engine reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 20% (earlier post and here).
Snecma research and technology vice-president Serge Eury says the next step after CALIN is the European Union funded Alfa-bird project. Alfa-Bird ('alternative fuels and biofuels for aircraft development') is a planned EU Seventh Framework research project to investigate the economic and industrial consequences of switching from today's kerosene-based jet fuels to biofuels and other alternatives:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: aviation :: jet fuel :: kerosene :: France :: CALIN is part of the Aerospace Valley's energy and propulsion activity, which in turn is one of nine areas of aerospace research and development the group has under way.
The Aerospace Valley is Europe's leading employment pool in the fields of aeronautics, space and embedded systems, with 94,000 jobs in industry and services, 1,300 establishments, and 8,500 people employed in research. All major European aerospace manufacturers form part of the cluster.
The biofuels project is part of a larger vision to ensure that Europe's aviation industry remains world leader in renewable energies and in cleaner air transport. The Aerospace Valley cluster is world leader in civil aircraft design, luxury business aircraft, low- and medium-power gas turbines for helicopters, landing gear, aircraft batteries.
ONERA (Office National d’Etudes et Recherches Aérospatiales) is the French national aerospace research center. It is a public research establishment, with eight major facilities in France and about 2,000 employees, including 1,500 scientists, engineers and technicians.
Snecma, a SAFRAN Group company, designs, develops and produces engines for civil and military aircraft, launch vehicles and satellites, either alone or in partnership.
References:
Snecma: CFM Successfully Tests Ester-Based Biofuel on CFM56-7B Engine - June 15, 2007.
Flight International: French alternate aviation fuels research to begin in December - August 8, 2007
Biopact: EU study looks at pros and cons of 20 most promising alternative fuels - July 25, 2007
Biopact: Syntroleum to deliver bio-based synthetic jet fuel to U.S. Department of Defense - July 09, 2007
Biopact: Boeing to fly aircraft on 50% biofuels blend - June 14, 2007
posted by Biopact team at 1:24 PM
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A French alternative-fuels project is joining efforts to green the industry, by laboratory-scale testing of blended fuels, second-generation biofuels and other candidates. The project, known as CALIN is being initiated by a conglomerate of research organisations consisting of France's aerospace research agency ONERA, propulsion company Snecma and members of the country's Aerospace Valley group.
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