Alternative Aircraft Fuels

The efficient utilization of fossil fuels by future jet aircraft may necessitate the broadening of current aviation turbine fuel specifications. The most significant changes in specifications would be an increased aromatics content and a higher final boiling point in order to minimize refinery energy consumption and costs. These changes would increase the freezing point and might lower the thermal stability of the fuel, and could cause increased pollutant emissions, increased combustor liner temperatures, and poorer ignition characteristics. This paper discusses the effects that broadened specification fuels may have on present-day jet aircraft and engine components and the technology required to use fuels with broadened specifications.