With the growing alarm and awareness of depleting fossil fuels and concerns regarding the environment, the market for alternative fuels for the aviation industry is expected to grow significantly
INARGUABLY, AN AIRCRAFT’S MOST crucial constituent is its power plant. Since the first heavier-than-air flight by the Wright brothers, power plant technology has evolved dramatically and, in recent years, the pace of advancement has been accelerating. The materials used and the design progression have ensured that each successive model is an improvement in terms of thrust produced. However, one area in which original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of power plants have not been able to make significant advancements is the fuel used. Fossil fuel remains the main source of energy for power plants although in recent years, there have been notable intent and endeavour towards replacement of the fossil fuel. Two motivations appear to have been the impellors in this direction: firstly the realisation that fossil fuels are irreplaceable and finite and need to be substituted by alternative fuels and secondly, the stimulus of reducing the environmental effects of fuel combustion and the resultant pollutants discharged into an already sullied atmosphere. Bio-fuels are the alternative fuels that the aviation world is looking at expectantly, but, while there is adequate advancement in bio-fuel technologies to nurture hope of bio-fuels edging out fossil fuels in the future, even the most optimistic view does not envisage the change to occur in the immediate future.
This article looks at bio-fuel technologies to assess whether and when it could occur.
THE BASICS. Aviation industry’s commitment to reducing Greenhouse Gas (CHG) emissions along with the burden of increasing oil prices, is forcing it to look for sources of renewable and affordable energy. Aviation is a type of transportation for which traditional bio-fuels such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel, do not fulfil the specific requirements. Hence the need to refine biofuel research and fine tune it to aviation requirements.
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Esta historia es de la edición February-March 2018 de SP's Airbuz.
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Supersonic Airliners On The Horizon
Although the aviation industry has been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the nascent field of high-speed civil aviation is one area that is recording noteworthy progress
TATA GROUP RIDING THE AMBITIOUS AVIATION ARC
Having raised its stake in AirAsia India, alongside operating Vistara, Tata Group is a strong bidder for Air India too
PRATT & WHITNEY PUREPOWER ENGINES
The Pratt & Whitney PurePower Geared Turbofan engine introduced dramatic improvements in propulsive efficiency and noise reduction
SIX BOEING 777 FREIGHTERS FOR CHINA AIRLINES
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TATA'S STAKE CLIMB UP THE LADDER IN INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY
Tata group increased its holdings in AirAsia India to 84 per cent
INDIAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Around two months after the imposition of total lockdown for three weeks commencing March 23, 2020, domestic flights albeit with much reduced frequency, were permitted to operate
EMBRAER E190 OPERATING WITH MYANMAR AIRWAYS
On December 21 last year, Myanmar Airways International’s (MAI) first Embraer E190 commenced operations from Yangon.
EMERGING CONFIGURATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION
Aviation contributes two per cent of humanmade Co 2 emissions and has challenged itself to reduce net emissions even while demand for air travel and transport has grown significantly
BLURRING DISTINCTION BETWEEN NARROW-BODY AND WIDE-BODY AIRLINERS
The major benefit which will emerge is that terribly busy hubs will de-congest with the number of transiting passengers reducing drastically as the layovers at the hubs will be done away with
