BioFuel could replace Military Tactical Jetfuel
GreyFlcn
Join Date: 2006-12-19 Member: 59134Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2006-12-19 Member: 59134Members, Constellation
Well, or atleast it looks like it has the potential to do so <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
For some background, JP-8 jetfuel is the type of fuel used by all tactical military vehicles.
The jets use JP-8 jetfuel
The tanks use JP-8 jetfuel
Everything uses JP-8 jetfuel
Logistically it's much simpler to use one single fuel. So thats what they do.
Recently there's been some interest from the military to <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/sto/solicitations/BioFuels/" target="_blank">find a biofuel replacement for JP-8</a>
<a href="http://www.insidegreentech.com/node/733" target="_blank">And it looks like they've found one.</a>
Real issue was whether or not the biofuel could achieve the same low temperature performance as JP-8.
-53°C maximum
Normal BioDiesel only gets a few degrees below freezing.
-5°C (roughly)
Not only does this new fuel achieve it, it does one better and goes 4° even further:
-57°C maximum
Whats also interesting is that it's got a high energy yield production method, 85%
and uses vegetable oil and lard as it's feedstock. (Rather than additives that use petrochemical or chloralkalye-chemicals)
They mention they <a href="http://www.insidegreentech.com/ctcfiles/Centia%20Executive%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">could sell it profitably for $2.00 a gallon</a>.
Or use it as a winterizing treatment for normal biodiesel.
Considering Diesels can get 40% more mileage than gasoline, thats like $1.20 per gallon of gasoline equivalent.
(Or 84cents per gallon of ethanol equivalent. <a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/08/28/honda-says-no-to-ethanol-cites-not-efficient/" target="_blank">Ethanol Mileage sucks.</a>)
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While Battery tech looks like it could be pretty awesome in the long term.
In the short term, the cheapest/'effectivest' solution looks like it will be diesel, followed up by diesel derived from plant oils.
For some background, JP-8 jetfuel is the type of fuel used by all tactical military vehicles.
The jets use JP-8 jetfuel
The tanks use JP-8 jetfuel
Everything uses JP-8 jetfuel
Logistically it's much simpler to use one single fuel. So thats what they do.
Recently there's been some interest from the military to <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/sto/solicitations/BioFuels/" target="_blank">find a biofuel replacement for JP-8</a>
<a href="http://www.insidegreentech.com/node/733" target="_blank">And it looks like they've found one.</a>
Real issue was whether or not the biofuel could achieve the same low temperature performance as JP-8.
-53°C maximum
Normal BioDiesel only gets a few degrees below freezing.
-5°C (roughly)
Not only does this new fuel achieve it, it does one better and goes 4° even further:
-57°C maximum
Whats also interesting is that it's got a high energy yield production method, 85%
and uses vegetable oil and lard as it's feedstock. (Rather than additives that use petrochemical or chloralkalye-chemicals)
They mention they <a href="http://www.insidegreentech.com/ctcfiles/Centia%20Executive%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">could sell it profitably for $2.00 a gallon</a>.
Or use it as a winterizing treatment for normal biodiesel.
Considering Diesels can get 40% more mileage than gasoline, thats like $1.20 per gallon of gasoline equivalent.
(Or 84cents per gallon of ethanol equivalent. <a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/08/28/honda-says-no-to-ethanol-cites-not-efficient/" target="_blank">Ethanol Mileage sucks.</a>)
_
While Battery tech looks like it could be pretty awesome in the long term.
In the short term, the cheapest/'effectivest' solution looks like it will be diesel, followed up by diesel derived from plant oils.
Comments
<a href="http://www.darpa.mil/sto/solicitations/BioFuels/" target="_blank">"biodiesel is 25% lower in energy density than JP-8"</a>
25 MJ/kg Ethanol
36 MJ/kg BioDiesel
44 MJ/kg JP-8
45+ MJ/kg JP-8 Replacement BioDiesel Fuel
_
Rock on <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
If I understand any word of that i'd prolly be like "coolio" but you totally lost me haha.
thats all jibberish to my little brain, either or global warming doesnt bother me much. I'll be dead by the time this planet melts under the sun, so meh. I could care less. Its a pathetic thing to say, but hey! thats life >.>
If I understand any word of that i'd prolly be like "coolio" but you totally lost me haha.
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I think you misunderstand the situation.
One of my old bosses, a big friendly Gunny, told us about one time when he was on Westpac, which is like the military version of a Pacific cruise. Lots of shore stops etc, and the Marines aren't really there to do much, they're just there to chill and "in case of emergency" they are the land-capable military force onboard the ship.
Well, somehow JP-8 got into the water supply onboard the ship, and it was about two hours before word of that little slip-up made its way around the ship. Shortly thereafter, almost the entire ship was down with the squirts.. and the toilets onboard the ship aren't exactly made to accomodate 20 people all at once. Chaos ensued. The moral of the story was not to drink JP-8, I guess.
On a more related note, I recently watched An Inconvenient Truth, and it's pretty depressing. I wish I were in some kind of position where I could be of more use to the cause. Sometimes I wish I had a lot of money and the most advanced military gear, and I would just prowl South America, mercilessly killing lumber tycoons and causing disturbances at cutting sites.
Usually they aren't doing it for the lumber.
It's usually used to make farmland for:
1. Beef Cattle
2. Soy Beans
3. Palm Oil
4. Sugar Cane
Of which then gets primarily exported to the US
As is, our politicians, (even the Democrats), are looking into ramping that process up by removing trade barriers for Ethanol from their Sugar Cane.
And either that means:
1. They will cut down the rainforrests to grow sugar cane
2. They will use up all the existing range/farmland, and push all the other farmers out
Who will then go tear down the rainforrests. (Same difference)
_
Luckily, even though Palm Oil has some of the highest Oil yeild, and Soy Beans is the most popular (i.e. Subsidized)
There's far better options to be had.
Canola Oil yields 2-3x the oil per acre as Soy Beans, with all it's genetically engineered wonder (Same as our genetically engineered Soy Beans)
Meanwhile, Chinese Tallow, a Tree which bears up to 100,000 pods of oily acorns
It yields even higher gallons/acre/year than palm oil.
And we've been inadvertantly growing them since the 1700's all throughout the region inbetween Florida and East Texas.
Hell, as is, they are considered a "noxious weed", because they grow too well.
<a href="http://aiche.confex.com/aiche/2006/techprogram/P67546.HTM" target="_blank">http://aiche.confex.com/aiche/2006/techprogram/P67546.HTM</a>
Although, once we get the engineering down, Algae can produce inbetween 50-500x the yield per acre as Soy Beans. We could grow all of our oil needs on 0.15% of America's land.
While not needing farmland at all, and only needing low quality recycled water.
_
What does get me though is that many people believe a tree planted at one place, is identical to a tree planting another place in reducing carbon impacts.
Turns out, thats entirely false.
Infact, trees nearer to the equator are more valuable, middle latitudes might do nothing, and trees planted at high latitudes (i.e. Canada), can actually make things even worse.
<a href="http://www.llnl.gov/pao/news/news_releases/2006/NR-06-12-02.html" target="_blank">http://www.llnl.gov/pao/news/news_releases...R-06-12-02.html</a>
_
In short, burning down the Amazon so that we can put around in BioFuel cars is just shooting ourselves in the foot.
Both on climate change, and on energy independance.
Seriously. You start a blog and I know I'd read it.
I've never done a blog before.
But you were just making funny so, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BM!!!!!!!! U HILARIOS!
YOU AND YOUR LOGIC! I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, BATMAN!
Technically, the expenditure of JP-8 over in Iraq is probably a much smaller amount than what is being burnt every day in non-combat zones, especially here in the US. Those vehicles, helicopters, planes, etc are operated and trained in every day, every week.
But you were just making funny so, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BM!!!!!!!! U HILARIOS!
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Actually since 2003, all non tactical military vehicles already use 20% concentration BioDiesel :O
Whats cool about this vegetable oil based JetFuel is that as an addative to BioDiesel,
it'd fix it's issues with cold weather and slightly lower energy content.
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quiet, i am attempting to incite a politically-fueled flamewar (oh snap, i made a pun)
YOU AND YOUR LOGIC! I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, BATMAN!
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Well considering how much of the tactical military role is policing 'Our Oil' which just happens to be placed under 'Their Sand',
I think something like this could actually reduce the ammount of military conflict in the world :O