April 2019: Genetically modified bacteria breaking down non-food biomass shows promising results in delivering sustainable plant based jet fuel. This fuel has a higher energy density per volume and could be a price competitive alternative to conventional fuels.
Information
Global air travel consumes approximately 5 million barrels of fuel per day and estimates predict a sharp rise excess of 10% in air travel by 2050. While many passenger jets already supplement their fuels with bio-fuel, the global aviation sector continues to be almost entirely reliant on petroleum-based fuels. Further, current production methods for biofuels convert food crops into bio-jet fuel and remain controversial as well as unsustainable. New evidence suggests that taking carbohydrate-rich plant material (non-food biomass) and using genetically modified bacteria to digest isolated sugars into energy-dense molecules that are then chemically converted into fuel could be economically viable. Data shows that this method produces fuel with higher energy density per volume unit than traditional fuels.
Implications and opportunities
Plant-based bio jet fuels could provide a competitive alternative to traditional petroleum-based fuels. Their performance advantage over petroleum-based fuels could lead to planes travelling further or carrying more weight per gallon of bio-fuel than conventional fuel. In addition, the net price of biofuel per gallon could be lower than traditional fuels if governments would incentivise emissions reduction and support the aviation sector in their transition towards more sustainable fuel options, giving plant-based biofuel a price competitive advantage.
Limitations
Producing liquid biofuels remains at a pre-commercial stage and requires large capital investment and large-scale multi-institutional approaches to ensure market viability. Further, estimates show that only 10 per cent of aviation fuel will be biofuel by 2050, underlining the need of other technologies to supplement the production of liquid fuels.
Sources
Baral, N., Kavvada, O., Perez, D. M., Mukhopadhyay, A., Lee, T. S., Simmons, B., & Scown, C. D. (2019). Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle greenhouse gas mitigation cost of five routes to bio-jet fuel blendstocks. Energy & Environmental Science. doi:10.1039/c8ee03266a
New Scientist. (2019) Jet fuel made from waste plant could be one of the most efficient yet. Retrieved from https://institutions.newscientist.com/article/2197278-jet-fuel-made-from-waste-plants-could-be-one-of-the-most-efficient-yet/
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