TEMPE, Ariz., - Everyday, 45,000 planes fly across the United States, carrying some 1.7 million passengers. Aviation dominates a frequent traveler's individual contribution to climate change, and yet is one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize, Phys.org reports. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
16 November 2022 - New research published today in the journal Nature Sustainability shows a pathway toward full decarbonization of U.S. aviation fuel use by substituting conventional jet fuel with sustainably produced biofuels.
The study, led by a team of Arizona State University researchers, found that planting the grass miscanthus on 23.2 million hectares of existing marginal agricultural lands — land that often lies fallow or is poor in soil quality — across the United States would provide enough biomass feedstock to meet the liquid fuel demands of the U.S. aviation sector fully from biofuels, an amount expected to reach 30 billion gallons per year by 2040.
“We demonstrate that it is within reach for the United States to decarbonize the fuel used by commercial aviation, without having to wait for electrification of aircraft propulsion,” said Nazli Uludere Aragon, co-corresponding author on the study and a recent ASU geography PhD graduate.
Related: Ansys selected by NASA-backed program to help validate sustainable aviation project
Related: Boeing to establish R&D facility on sustainable aviation fuel, electrification in Japan
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
