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Alternative fuels in aviation

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Abstract

During the last years, the aviation sector has been looking into alternatives to kerosene from crude oil, to combat climate change by reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to ensure security of supply at affordable prices. The efforts are also a reaction to commitments and policy packages. Currently, a wide range of possible fuel candidates and fuel blends are discussed in the triple feedstock, process, and product. Any (synthetic) aviation fuel must be certified; hence, a profound knowledge on its properties, in particular thermophysical and chemical, is inevitable. In the present paper, an overview is given on alternative jet fuels, looking into the short-term and long-term perspective. Examples focusing on experimental and modeling work of combustion properties of existing—coal to liquid, gas to liquid (GtL)—and possible alternative fuels—GtL + 20 % 1-hexanol, GtL + 50 % naphthenic cut—are presented. Ignition delay times and laminar flame speeds were measured for different alternative aviation fuels over a range of temperatures, pressures, and fuel–air ratios. The data are used for the validation of a detailed chemical reaction mechanism following the concept of a surrogate. Such validated reaction models able to describe and to predict reliably important combustion properties of jet fuels are needed to further promote the development of even more sophisticated jet engines and to optimize synthetic jet fuel mixtures in practical combustors.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support of the European Commission (ALFA-BIRD [15], SWAFEA [16]), the BMWi—Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany (burn-FAIR) [18], and of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP 19]) as well as the contribution from the project partners is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank P. Le Clercq for fruitful discussions, J. Herzler and C. Naumann for their investigations on ignition delay times, Th. Kick and T. Kathrotia for their work on burning velocities, and C. Wahl and M. Kapernaum for their analysis of the fuel compositions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Combustion Technology, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Marina Braun-Unkhoff & Uwe Riedel

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  1. Marina Braun-Unkhoff
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  2. Uwe Riedel
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Correspondence to Marina Braun-Unkhoff.

Additional information

This paper is based on a presentation at the German Aerospace Congress, September 10–12, 2013, Stuttgart, Germany.

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Braun-Unkhoff, M., Riedel, U. Alternative fuels in aviation. CEAS Aeronaut J 6, 83–93 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-014-0131-2

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