Perhaps of interest to the group..........
--
Kelly Troyer
"Dyke Delta"_13B
ROTARY Engine
"RWS"_RD1C/EC2/EM2
"Mistral"_Backplate/Oil Manifold
Cleaning Up Avgas: Company Designs Less-Expensive Alternative Product
Conceived
As Renewable Replacement for 100LL
A new general
aviation
fuel claiming to be less expensive, fuel-efficient and
environmentally friendlier than any on the market was unveiled this
week by Swift Enterprises of West Lafayette, IN.
Data on Swift
Enterprises' 100 percent renewable general
aviation fuel was presented
April 28 at an annual meeting of an
international committee that oversees
aviation fuel standards.
Unlike current biomass fuels, the product named
SwiftFuel, is
comprised of synthetic hydrocarbons derived from biomass.
Co-founder John Rusek said it can provide an effective range
(distance
between refueling) greater than petroleum while its
projected cost is half
the current petroleu m manufacturing
cost.
The fuel created by
Swift Enterprises' propulsion and energy
researchers meets or exceeds the
standards for aviation fuel as
verified by nationally recognized
laboratories, said Rusek, a
professor in Purdue University's School of
Astronautics and
Aeronautics Engineering.
Swift Enterprises,
founded seven years ago at Purdue Research
Park, is led by Rusek and his
wife, Mary, who have been involved in
the field of energy more than two
decades. The meeting was held by
the Coordinating Research Council of ASTM
International in
Alexandria, Va. ASTM International is one of the largest
voluntary
standards development organizations in the world.
"Our
fuel should not be confused with first-generation bio-fuels
like E-85,
which don't compete well right now with petroleum,"
Rusek said. "For
general aviation aircraft, range is paramount. Not
only can our fuel
seamlessly replace the aviation industr y's
standard petroleum fuel, it
can outperform it."
The general aviation
industry each year uses
nearly 570 million gallons of 100LL
aviation fuel, which contains lead, is
becoming increasingly
expensive and is non-renewable. In contrast, testing
has shown
SwiftFuel is 15 to 20 percent more fuel efficient, has no sulfur
emissions, requires no stabilizers; has a 30-degree lower freezing
point, introduces no new carbon emissions, and is lead-free, John
Rusek said. In addition, he said, the components of this fuel can
be
formulated into a replacement for jet/turbine fuels.
The aviation
industry has been the only form of transportation
to use leaded fuel
(tetraethyl lead) since an Environmental
Protection Agency ban went into
effect 30 years ago. However, that
lead-free exemption will cease in less
than two years.
"The general aviation industry, both domestic and
foreign, is
demanding a solution to this dilemma ," said Mary Rusek, Swift
Enterprises' president. "Our new, patented technology can provide
the
1.8 million gallons per day required by the industry in the US
by
utilizing only 5 percent of this country's existing bio-fuel
plant
infrastructure."
Swift Enterprises officials are in discussions with
the Federal
Aviation Administration, which has initiated a cooperative
agreement with the company to evaluate the fuel.
FMI:
www.swiftenterprises.com