News Detail


Local company ARA and others to Partner to Fly Aircraft Powered by 100% alternative jet fuel




2012/10/26

Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) are partnering with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., a Canadian firm with a growing presence in the biofuel feedstock market, to evaluate CLG and ARA’s 100% drop-in ReadiJet™ Fuel.

ARA and NRC will test the renewable jet fuel against ASTM and military specifications and evaluate the fuel in ground based engine tests, with the initiative culminating in a test flight with the NRC Falcon-20 twin engine jet. This flight will be the first time in the world a jet aircraft is powered by 100%, un-blended, renewable jet fuel that meets petroleum jet fuel specifications. The biofuel, ReadiJet™, was produced by ARA, under contract to AFRL, from Agrisoma’s Resonance™ feedstock crop using CLG’s and ARA’s breakthrough Biofuel ISOCONVERSION process.

During the test flight, a second aircraft, the National Research Council’s T33 jet will fly behind the Falcon 20 to measure the emissions of the engine operating on both the ReadiJet biofuel and on conventional petroleum-based aviation fuel. Systems onboard the Falcon 20 will allow NRC’s flight research team to switch back and forth between the two fuel types throughout the flight. These data will be the first of its kind to evaluate biojet fuel emissions of an aircraft engine operating on 100% biofuel. NRC’s unique expertise will support Agrisoma Biosciences and CLG/ARA efforts to validate the Resonance-based ReadiJet biofuel as a viable and sustainable option for the aviation industry.

Resonance™ is a member of the mustard oilseed crop family, and was introduced into commercial production in Canada in 2012. Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., a long-time NRC partner, commercialized the oilseed to provide the industry with a sustainable energy feedstock crop: a non-food, industrial oilseed that is well-suited for production in semi-arid areas, making it ideal for producers who can grow the crops on marginal land. “NRC is helping Agrisoma complete the value chain for Resonance-based alternative jet fuels,” said Steven Fabijanski, President and CEO of Agrisoma.

The Biofuel ISOCONVERSION Process is made up of:

  • ARA’s Catalytic Hydrothermolysis (CH) process, which mimics nature’s way of converting biomass to petroleum crude. While nature’s processes take millions of years to produce petroleum crude, it takes minutes for the CH process to turn plant oils into a high quality crude oil intermediate. The technology is proven in mature pilot systems. A U.S. patent was granted to ARA in 2010 on the CH process.
  • CLG’s ISOCONVERSION™ Catalysts efficiently upgrade the crude oil intermediate produced by the CH reactor into on-specification, finished fuels. The final products are all fungible and nearly identical to petroleumderived fuels. ReadiJet™ Fuel is tailored to meet all commercial and military jet fuel specifications.

“The integrated ARA/CLG Biofuel ISOCONVERSION process and Agrisoma’s Resonance™ feedstock provide a pathway for fulfilling the commercial and military markets’ requirements for alternative fuels at parity with petroleum while spurring opportunities for farmers,” said Chuck Red, ARA’s Alternative Fuels Program Lead. “We look forward to this partnership with NRC to help us validate the combination of Canadian developed and grown feedstocks and our processing technology as a leading alternative fuel solution.”

Media Contacts:
Lori De Amaral
Chevron Lummus Global
(510) 242- 3177
LDAM@chevron.com

Alisa Kinsaul
Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA)
(850) 914-3188
akinsaul@ara.com

More information available at:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
http://www.ara.com/fuels
http://www.agrisoma.com

About Chevron Lummus Global
CLG licenses refining hydroprocessing technologies and catalyst systems worldwide, and is a 50-50 joint venture between Chevron Products Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, and Lummus Technology Inc., a CB&I Company. CLG's research and development staff is continuously seeking advancements in catalyst and technology that will improve operating economics. CLG is the leading Process Technology Licensor for Alternate Sources of Fuels including: Oil Sands Bitumen, Shale Oil, Biofuels, Extra Heavy Oils. For more information about Chevron Lummus Global please visit
http://www.chevron.com/products/sitelets/refiningtechnology/about_che_tech.aspx

About ARA
ARA is an international research and engineering company recognized for its advanced technical solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. Founded in Albuquerque, NM in 1979, ARA has offices throughout the United States and Canada, providing a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. For more information about ARA's diverse and innovative capabilities, please visit http://www.ara.com.

About Agrisoma
Agrisoma Biosciences is a Canadian based agricultural biotechnology company that has commercialized a sustainable feedstock crop solution for the biofuels industry. Resonance™ Energy Feedstock is a biofuels solution: a non-food oilseed that is sustainable, with value chain economics that support its scaling to support the biofuels industry – a “drop-in” crop solution that takes advantage of the power of agriculture to achieve scale and quality. Resonance™ Energy Feedstock provides an optimized oil for advanced biofuel manufacturing technologies with significant benefits in fuel manufacturing efficiencies and economics.
http://www.agrisoma.com

About NRC
The National Research Council (NRC) is the Government of Canada's premier organization for research and development. Every year NRC scientists, engineers and business experts work closely with Canadian industry to take research impacts from the lab to the marketplace. This delivers innovation faster, enhances people's lives and addresses some of the world`s most pressing problems. NRC has the people, expertise, services, licensing opportunities, national facilities and global networks to help Canadian businesses bring new technologies to market.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

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