Joule’s Sunflow-D and Sunflow-J CO2-neutral fuels meet the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) for diesel and jet fuel, respectively.
Demonstrating ASTM compliance marks another step toward commercial readiness of CO2-derived hydrocarbon fuels, the company says.
ASTM test regimes address a number of fuel requirements, such as performance (e.g. cetane or octane, aromaticity, viscosity, etc.), engine wear, transportability and post-combustion air quality.
The C11 alkane molecule, which comprises Joule Sunflow-D and Sunflow-J, was tested with the following results:
- Joule Sunflow-D meets the ASTM D-975 standard for diesel in blend percentages of up to 50 percent. The product achieved a high cetane number of 80, improving with increased concentrations of the Joule molecule and indicating a positive trend for combustion quality. The finished blends demonstrated reduced sulfur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), thus improving the quality of conventional diesel.
- Joule Sunflow-J meets the ASTM D-1655 standard for jet A/A1 fuel in blend percentages of up to 25 percent, complying with requirements for turbine performance, engine wear and air quality.
Renewable oils and fatty esters, such as biodiesel, require chemical upgrading before they can be blended with fossil fuels, and then only in low concentrations. In contrast, Joule produces alkane molecules that it says are inherently “blendable” with fossil fuels in high concentrations (up to 50 percent), thus displacing more fossil-derived oil with no chemical upgrading required.
Earlier this week Boeing said it and Embraer will open a joint research center to advance a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in Brazil. Under a memorandum of understanding, the research conducted at the center will focus on technologies that address gaps in a supply chain for sustainable aviation biofuel in Brazil, such as feedstock production and processing technologies.
