It is unfortunate that wider notice was not given before the excellent “Advances in Alternate Aviation Fuels Workshop” that was put on by Airport Administrator Stelios Makrides and the Santa Monica Airport staff at the Jan. 26 Santa Monica Airport Commission meeting. Using existing contacts and referrals from the Santa Monica Airport Association, airport staff drew together a panel of experts that covered all fields and traveled from all parts of our country. Several of the panelists noted that it was good to get away from their unrelenting snow and visit our sunshine!
Four industry representatives made presentations. Dr. Phillip Fine of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) provided information on his agency’s Ground-level Ozone Challenge that aims use alternative fuels and other methods to substantially reduce NOX emissions at airports throughout Southern California.
Ellie Wood of the Boeing Company detailed her company’s efforts to reduce aircraft emissions worldwide utilizing a variety of alternative jet fuels combined with advances in aircraft and engine design.
AltAir Fuels’ president, Brian Sherbacow, discussed how his company has worked with our military for over 10 years to produce a molecularly identical bio-based jet fuel that can be a “drop-in” replacement for the current petroleum based Jet A. BioJet A has a 50-percent or greater reduction in ultra-fine particles and other pollutants and is expected to be commercially available this year. AltAir Fuels has been modifying a refinery in Paramount, California, to initially produce 40 million gallons of BioJet A per year and already has a multi-year commitment from United Airlines to purchase a minimum of 5 million gallons per year for use at LAX.
Finally, Chris D’Acosta, CEO of Swift Fuels, LLC, discussed his two variants of unleaded 100-octane avgas currently under testing in the FAA’s Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) program. This program is the culmination of years-long work and input from numerous public and private stakeholders charged with finding a way to safely replace lead in avgas. The intent is to produce a lead free fuel that meets the needs of the entire piston engine aviation fleet ranging from 60-year-old piston singles to the most modern multiengine aircraft. This is a scientifically complex process that must fully satisfy dozens of separate performance specifications in order to make a universal and safe replacement fuel.
The end result of the PAFI program will be a new American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) consensus standard that refiners can use to produce a replacement for our current 100LL fuel. Four different formulations are currently undergoing Stage 1 testing at FAA labs and the final fuels will be selected near the end of 2018. These fuels will be fully mixable with current leaded avgas and will allow fuel suppliers, airplane owners and operators to safely transition to the new fuel without having to make changes of any kind.
After the presentations, an extensive Q&A period followed where the presenters answered questions from the audience and from members of the Airport Commission. The PowerPoint presentations and summaries from each presenter are available on the Santa Monica Airport Commission’s web site at www.smgov.net/departments/airport/commission. Look under the Jan. 26 meeting date. The presentations are fast-paced and informative. You’ll come away with a much better understanding of how our airport is heading to a greener tomorrow.
The bottom line is that exciting, new green fuels are coming to Santa Monica Airport in the very near future. Years of scientific study and testing are finally paying off. It took almost 20 years to fully transition to unleaded automotive fuels. The transition to unleaded aviation fuels will happen over a much shorter time period. Thanks again to our Airport staff for presenting such an informative workshop.
Joe Bates is a Venice resident.
Airports will be obsolete soon! Aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landings (VTOL) are in production today! See (http://bit.ly/1EcchWk). Can we hold a workshop on VTOL, too?
The presentations put on at the Santa Monica Airport Commission’s January 26 Environmental workshop were for the most part sales pitches and nothing meaningful was offered to solve the problems that exist at Santa Monica Airport. Presenters avoided answering questions that would be meaningful to airport neighbors. Catch phrases like “green airport” will not clear away the toxic pollutants. To me the presentation was more smoke being blown out and yet another slap in the face to the impacted communities forced to breath the toxic aircraft emissions.
“In the foreseeable future, air transportation is likely to continue to rely heavily on petroleum derived kerosene jet fuel. Most of the alternative fuels we examined scored well regarding their compatibility with current systems. As these fuels become available, they can gradually enter the fuel supply chain serving aviation. Four of the alternative fuels we examined—biodiesel, biokerosene, ethanol, and butanol—scored poorly on compatibility with current systems. Further research may show approaches by which the safety problems associated with aviation use of one or more of these fuels might be overcome. However, none of these fuels offers sufficient benefits, considering production costs, environmental performance, and production potential, to warrant a large investment either in research or in the infrastructure modifications that would likely be required to accommodate such fuels.” “Any Measures Designed to Promote Alternative-Fuel Use in Aviation Should Consider the Potentially Large Greenhouse-Gas Releases Associated with Land-Use Changes Required for Cultivating Crops for Producing Biomass or Renewable Oils.” May, 2014 http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/partner/reports/proj17/altfuelfeasrpt.pdf
“…alternative jet fuels are currently produced in large measure by small firms that do not have the economies of scale to manufacture them in a cost-effective way, according to the Washington Free Beacon. The GAO report cited a Federal Aviation Administration study estimated that “alternative jet fuels produced on a commercial scale using the HEFA process would require a subsidy of $0.35 to $2.86 per gallon to be price-competitive with conventional jet fuels in 2020.” May, 2014 http://rt.com/usa/157724-pentagon-green-jet-fuel-cost/
I support alternative energy developments across all industries. However, onesies and two-sies just aren’t going to do it, and the technology developments mentioned in this article will have little to no impact on SMO for the foreseeable future. Why? Today’s market penetration of these aircraft is essentially ZERO percent. While it is not uncommon to see aircraft operated for 30-40 years, the designed life usually ranges from 18-20 years. Even more important is the life cycle of plant facilities, the critical infrastructure to process fuels at scale, have 50 year lives with capital costs of $100’s of millions of dollars. Add onto that government, corporate, regulatory, and legal bureaucracy and you have another XX years. The reality is that widespread change in these mature, highly-regulated, capital-intensive, global industries is extremely slow. So what will be the market penetration of these aircraft be in 2050? My guess is maybe 5% at best! As a reference point the mid-range forecast for market penetration rates for hybrid cars is about 25% by 2050. In summary, rapid technology adoption rates are an extreme challenge in aviation, and scale and penetration are required before we would see any meaningful impact at SMO.
“Less Bad” does not equal “Good.” We’d be much better off selling *no* fuel at SMO than “greener” fuels. Moreover, even if SMO did switch over, airplanes would still be flying in and out of SMO using non-“greener” fuels for many, many years to come. A better solution is to shorten the runway or, better yet, close the airport entirely.
Don’t be fooled. Burning fossil fuels is NOT green. Maybe SLIGHTLY greener with bio fuels but still NOT green. Santa Monica Airport currently burns 2.5 MILLION gallons of aviation fuel annually. That is a lot of CO2. That is a lot of particulate pollution. (Even a 50% reduction in particulate pollution is STILL too dangerous). That is a lot of toxic Lead. That is a lot of Benzene, Ethylbenzene, O-xylene, Pentane, Toluene and Styrene that has all been recorded at Santa Monica Airport at elevated levels. The average age of General Aviation aircraft is over 35 years old, most of which can not even use unleaded or bio fuels. It will take a LONG time to replace those aircraft. We do not have that time. Someday there will be electric planes. But not now and not anytime in the near future in significant numbers considering the average age for GA Aircraft. WE DO NOT HAVE 20-35 YEARS wait with the pollution be emitted right now at SMO. Finally with regards to sustainability, it takes farms and water to produce BIO fuels. Given the lack of available farming land and the rapidly diminishing water supply (NO Federal water is going to farms in California for a second year in a row) do we want to spend our precious farming resources to make bio fuels for privileged aircraft owners – rather that to feed children? I think not.
This is good news, but air pollution is not the only problem. SMO airport would never be built today–it is smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood and the runways are inadequate. There have been many crashes, and inevitably, more will come. We don’t want to be the disaster waiting to happen. Moreover, this airport is on public land, and public land should be used for public purposes. While SMO had a glorious history, that history is recognized in the Museum of Flying. Now a new history needs to be built, one that will benefit the community as a whole and create a green zone, our very own Central Park in Santa Monica.