Wisconsin-based Virent has delivered the first 100 gallons of its bio-based jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for testing. This company news release says it will be validated against the standards required for qualification and approval of new aviation turbine fuels established by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM):
Dr. Tim Edwards of the AFRL’s Fuels and Energy Branch said, “AFRL is looking forward to working with Virent and the FAA to evaluate the performance of this fuel. This larger sample will help generate the performance data needed to advance the technology toward engine and flight testing.”
The jet fuel was produced at a new Virent demonstration plant built to produce drop-in jet and diesel fuels from 100% renewable plant sugars. The plant was constructed at the company’s facility in Madison, Wisconsin under a $1.5 Million award received in 2011 from the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation, through the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, and commissioned in January…
Lourdes Maurice, Executive Director of the FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy said, “We are excited that Virent is able to effectively utilize FAA funding to deliver these gallons for testing. The fuel will be used with our partners in the industry and government to progress testing of novel alternative jet fuels that can help meet FAA’s environment and energy goals under the Next Generation Air Transportation System.”
Virent officials say if the testing is successful, they next step will be to get the refinery up to commercial capacity.