The Possible Fuel for Future Aircrafts

While ATF seems to be the only option for fueling the aircrafts for longer periods, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any other option for fueling the aircrafts.

The World is changing, every now and then people are becoming more environmentally conscious part of this is because of the environmental impacts we all are witnessing from the past few years. The companies are also trying harder to make some advancements in their engines so that it can run on sustainable fuels. In India,there were number of flights that were tested using Jatropha fuel in the past.

According to the report by one of the environmental agency Aviation Sector contributes about 3% of the GHG emissions, that if not curbed will increase upto 25% by the year 2050. Another reason for using sustainable fuel is that there isa prediction which says that in the coming years the prices of the ATF will sore by upto 40% due to more demand.

So, what are the alternatives?

1. Hydrogen: Hydrogen is considered as one of the alternatives for the ATF, for the simple reason that it emits water vapor when burned with oxygen, this technology if applied will curb the pollution levels to a great extent. There are two possible options in the hydrogen, there is Hydrogen Fuel which will be used as ATF to produce the required thrust to power the aircraft and then there is Hydrogen Cells which will be used as a battery to power the electric engine.

2. BioFuel: - Biofuels are already being tested in various aircraft's, and is being touted as the best replacement of traditional petroleum based turbine fuel, Bio-fuels are made from various plants like jatropha and can also be derived from sub petroleum products like kerosene. Since these fuels are already being tested, they can replace the ATF partially in near future.

3. Solar Energy: - Every heard of "Solar Impulse"? an aircraft which runs completely on solar power, it already had round trips around the World and has been successful during test flights. Various technologies related to solar energy are being tested and are in continuous development.

4. Electricity: - Electricity is considered as the best possible alternative of replacing the existing fuel systems, electricity can be stored using batteries and can be more efficient than the age old oils being used.However the process of obtaining the electricity should be from a renewable source, only then it could be considered as sustainable.

All the above mentioned fuel sources are in development/ testing processes, it would take some more years to see which fuel will be considered as the best replacement of Aviation Turbine Fuel.