LBNL Develops Renewable Jet Fuel

Air travel emissions have a huge negative impact on the environment due to greenhouse gas emissions from traditional jet fuel. As a result, there is a high demand for biofuels for aviation use.

According to a recent mailing from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories‘ Intellectual Property Department, researchers at Berkeley Lab have produced a novel jet fuel, prespatane, from the red yeast Rhodosporidium Toruloides. Prespatane is a promising jet fuel – its specific energy and volumetric energy density are higher than traditional (Jet A) fuel. Prespatane’s specific energy is 43.06 MJ/kg which is an increase by 0.61% over Jet A specification. Saturated prespatane has a specific energy estimate of 43.27 which is an increase by 1.1% over Jet A specification. Saturated prespatane has an energy density estimate of 41.46 MJ/L which represents a 18.79% increase over the Jet A median value. Prespatane’s volumetric energy density is 38.9 MJ/L.

This technology developed by scientists at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) at Berkeley Lab offers a high titer of the novel jet fuel, prespatane, by utilizing lignocellulosic biomass, a renewable carbon source. Prespatane was produced in 2 L reactors, reaching 1.17 g/L in one-pot poplar hydrolysate. JBEI continues to optimize the titer of prespatane.

Interested partners should contact LBNL’s Intellectual Property Office.

To read the full article and details on the new fuel, visit Cleantech Concepts.

Source: LBNL and Cleantech Concepts.

Tom Breunig is publisher of Cleantech Concepts, which tracks cleantech R&D. Sign up for the newsletter at Cleantech Concepts.