BA to pilot green fuel production
28 Feb 2010
British Airways has unveiled plans to establish what it believes will be Europe’s first ’sustainable’ jet fuel plant. Design, engineering and management services company ARCADIS is to be the principal consultant on the project, which will be developed by Solena Group in partnership with the UK airline company.
The plant will produce aviation fuel from plasma gasification of biomass into BioSynGas that is then converted by Fischer Tropsch into biojet fuel. The facility will process all types of biomass and residue feedstock, which will mainly be sourced from local waste management facilities.
The process produces no waste products other than an environmentally-benign slag that can be used as construction aggregate.
When complete, the carbon reclamation & conditioning plant will convert 500 kilotonnes of carbon-based material per year into 16 million gallons of jet fuel. The process offers lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of up to 95% compared to fossil fuel derived kerosene, potentially reducing annual carbon emissions by 145kt. The plant will produce more than double the fuel needed to power all BA flights at London City Airport. First delivery is scheduled for 2014.
