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A Military Secret
Schobert's project began originally to develop jet fuel for the next generation of high performance military aircraft that would require thermally stable fuels. The U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research is funding this work, with help from the Department of Energy.
"Initially, the goal of this research was to develop a fuel that could also be used as a heat sink on board aircraft, in addition to the obvious role of providing the propulsion energy," Schobert said.
Such a fuel would be useful for the F-22, Joint Strike Fighter and F-35. However, according to Schobert, in the recent past, the Air Force has suggested that the focus be shifted to the development of a "drop in" coal based replacement for current JP 8.
While the JP900 fuel was created for and funded by the military, it could eventually find its way into wing tanks of commercial jetliners.
Replacing Jet-A
Tailoring this fuel to meet JP-8 specifications basically means that it would also be equivalent to Jet-A or Jet A-1. Therefore, it could be used, in principle at least, as a replacement for those current commercial fuels.
Schobert said commercialization depends on two factors. The first is being able to 'qualify' the fuel for use and the second, economics.
"We do not yet have a solid economic evaluation of this fuel," he said. One of the refiners in the private sector has said they would want to make 50,000 barrels of fuel, equivalent to running 5,000 barrels per day for ten days, to get reliable engineering data on which to base an economic analysis.
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