A flight powered by cooking oil has taken place in the UK for the first time.
The RAF voyager – the military equivalent of an Airbus A330 – took off and landed from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last week.
SAF is a near drop in fuel, designed to reduce the carbon footprint of our aircraft which could prove to be critical to achieve our goal of net zero 2040.The SAF used for this trial is made from waste cooking oil and has approximately an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions of F-34 despite the fact it was sourced from the far east.Locally produced SAF could see an even larger reduction in CO2 emissions in the future.The SAF’s technical name is Hydro processed Ester Fatty Acid Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA SPK)It is produced by breaking down oils and fats into esters and glycerol in a process called transesterification. The esters are then hydro processed to remove oxygen and unsaturated bonds from them which makes them fit for use in aircraft and less susceptible to breaking down.There are differences within the fuels which will have an effect on various things:It has 0 sulphur which reduces engine lubricity but leads to less SOx emissions which can cause acid rain.It doesn’t have a compound called benzene/aromatics which leads to engineering challenges:A lower density of fuel caused by the absence of aromatics means that a greater volume needs to be pumped by the fuel system per second to maintain the required power output.Aromatics cause seals to swell, certain types of seals will not swell to create a proper seal so need to be replaced in order to use SAFAromatics can cause long term health effects including cancer, the removal of these is a reduction of risk to those operating around aviation fuel
The Royal Air Force hopes that the sustainable aviation fuels will help net zero by 2040 and reduce the force’s reliance on global supply chains.
Defence minister Baroness Goldie has described the flight as a “breakthrough moment” for the RAF.
She said: “They should be rightly proud of this achievement – it is a breakthrough moment for the RAF and an exciting development for the Ministry of Defence.”
The 90-minute flight was also the first time that a military aircraft of such size had used a fully sustainable fuel.
The RAF says that waste-based fuels could reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said: “The way we power our aircraft will be key to meeting (the net-zero) challenge and the RAF is already thinking about how we will operate beyond fossil fuels.”
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