Posted on 08/09/2007 3:23:04 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The Air Force's fleet of B-52s, the nation's oldest active-duty aircraft, was certified Wednesday as the first that can use one of the Air Force's newest innovations: a cleaner-burning, domestically produced synthetic fuel blend. The certification is the culmination of a year-long test program conducted at Edwards, which was visited Wednesday by Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to thank and congratulate the engineers, pilots and others who worked on the project.
"This is a great day for the United States Air Force," Wynne said, "And another milestone for the Flight Test Center."
Wynne called the B-52 fleet's certification "the tip of the spear for national energy independence."
The synthetic fuel blend is a half-and-half mixture of JP-8, or regular jet fuel, and Fischer-Tropsch, or F-T synthetic fuel, which is derived from natural gas or coal.
By using the fuel blend, the United States and its military can lessen dependence on foreign oil, instead using the nation's ample coal deposits for fuel, Wynne said.
The Fischer-Tropsch process was pioneered by German scientists in the 1920s, and F-T fuel was used during World War II to compensate for Germany's lack of oil supplies.
F-T fuel also has been used for aviation and diesel fuel in South Africa.
"With crude oil at, as of 8:42 this morning, $72.67 a barrel and gas topping $3 per gallon, at least in California, people are looking for answers and alternatives, and so is the United States Air Force," said Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards.
He said the new synthetic fuel blend is "not the only answer, not the final answer," but noted that the fuel has lower exhaust emissions and is less toxic than JP-8 jet fuel while performing well and handling long-term storage.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
and they have to figure out how to turn crude oil into beef steaks.
And the best part? It can be made from coal.
The technique is well-known, and proven over and over. With a minimum of modification, the fuel produced may be used in spark-ignition engines, or in Diesels, where it is cleaner-burning than petroleum-based distilled fractions.
In fact, probably old tire carcasses could be used as a feedstock for the F-T process, which could prove to be a win-win in terms of reducing a huge mountain of trash to a useful product. Not a perfect answer, but certainly one that should be plugged into the equation of balancing resources with demands.
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These planes are STILL in service?! WTF? One would have hoped that their replacements would have come online...during the REAGAN administraton! What gives? We can spent trillions on granny’s free pills but can’t afford to replace these aging planes? Mucho respect for those brave (crazy?) enough to fly on these dinosaurs.
(Just kidding around...the image just popped into my head)
dang! I hate when I forget a paragraph break and the preview check lines up just right so I doesn’t look like I did.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fiz it.
No, global market. India, China, and the Euros will buy the stuff USA doesn’t.
Alright, coal fired bombers. I like it!
LOL Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.
Still coming off the assembly lines.
This paves the way towards commercialization from a customer who pays on time and who's checks do not bounce.
It also puts the ball in the court once again to the military to "get'r done". By that I mean creating enabling technologies that are game changers. Ike did it with the Interstate Highway system (some Mil requirement there, or so I am told), The Internet so the military could communicate if the Ruskie's attacked.
These Military initiatives changed us for the better and did what the windbags in congress couldn't.
You combine this with the NATO requirement for "One Fuel" (JP5 JP8) in the theater by 2010, for everything (i.e. gen sets, UAV's) you have makings of a driver towards "One Fuel" on the domestic side as well.
I think propane is the fuel of the future for cars, but I can't stop the momentum of this move.
Read and listen to all Glenn Beck had to say about Coal to Oil found on this page of his site, once again, Glenn was way ahead of the curve:
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