USAF Testing Synthetic Fuels With B-52 in Cold Weather
By GAYLE S. PUTRICH
Posted 02/05/07 09:37
defensenews.com
As part of the ongoing effort to wean the U.S. Air Force off of traditional imported fossil fuels, cold-weather testing of synthetic fuel began this week with a B-52 Stratofortress bomber at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
Testing will last though the first half of February to examine how well the gas — a 50/50 mix of traditional oil-derived fuel and a natural gas-based synthetic created with the Fischer-Tropsch process — performs in extreme weather.
“The B-52 is leading the way in carrying out the Air Force's vision for conservation,” Col. Eldon Woodie, 5th Bomb Wing commander, said in a press release. “Hopefully, the weather will allow us to complete cold-weather testing.”
Syntroleum, a Tulsa, Okla.-based synthetic fuel company, sold the Air Force 100,000 gallons of fuel for the tests, said Gary Gamino, the company’s spokesman.
Syntroleum is commercializing its proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology and working on building a gas-to-liquid plant in Papua New Guinea and a coal-to-liquid plant in Germany.
Synthetic fuel testing with the B-52 began in September at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., using a half-and-half blend of JP-8 and the Syntroleum synthetic in all eight engines in flights as long as seven hours. Data from the Edwards flights will be combined with cold-weather data from Minot in a report expected to be released in June. |
