Synthetic fuel blend with natural gas tested

Valley Press on ^ | Sunday, November 4, 2007.

[BenLurkin]

EDWARDS AFB- A C-17 cargo plane has begun testing a blend of synthetic fuel made from natural gas, part of a Pentagon effort to reduce the American military's reliance on imported oil. The Global Reach Combined Test Force began testing a C-17 Globemaster III using a blend of synthetical fuel, made by the Fischer-Tropsch process, mixed with conventional JP-8 fuel, according to an Edwards Air Force Base announcement. It is part of the Air Force's plans to certify the C-17 with synthetic blended fuel and develop an overall process to certify all Air Force aircraft with synthetic fuel.

"Our goal was to prove that the F-T fuel blend operates the same as JP-8 fuel with no adverse effects," said Maj. Scott Sullivan, 418th Flight Test Squadron, experimental C-17 test pilot. "We started out with ground testing, which involved running the auxiliary power unit and the running engines up to maximum take-off power. We then proceeded to flight tests and performed throttle transients at varying altitudes and air speeds."

The Fischer-Tropsch process is named for two German scientists who pioneered it in the 1920s. Synthetic fuel made from coal was used by Germany during World War II to compensate for its lack of oil supplies.

The Air Force plans to test and certify every aircraft to fly on a domestically produced synthetic fuel blend by early 2011.

The fuel tested in the C-17 was essentially the same fuel blend used in the Air Force's inaugural tests on a B-52H bomber, which concluded in August, except for the manufacturer. The C-17 used a Shell blend, while the B-52 used a blend from Syntroleum Corp.