RobBurson wrote:New GA Fuel Promises Better Range, Lower Cost

"Not only can our fuel seamlessly replace the aviation industry's standard petroleum fuel [100LL], it can outperform it," says John Rusek, a professor at Purdue University and co-founder of Swift Enterprises. The company recently unveiled a new general aviation fuel that it says will be less expensive, more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendlier than any on the market. Unlike other alternative fuels, Rusek said, SwiftFuel is made of synthetic hydrocarbons that are derived from biomass, and it can provide an effective range greater than 100LL, while costing about half as much to produce. "Our fuel should not be confused with first-generation biofuels like E-85 [85 percent ethanol], which don't compete well right now with petroleum," Rusek said. Patented technology can produce the 1.8 million gallons per day of fuel used by GA in the U.S. by using just 5 percent of the existing biofuel plant infrastructure, the company said.

The synthetic fuel is 15 to 20 percent more fuel-efficient, has no sulfur emissions, requires no stabilizers, has a 30-degree lower freezing point than 100LL, introduces no new carbon emissions, and is lead-free, Rusek said. In addition, he said, the components of the fuel can be formulated into a replacement for jet/turbine fuels. The company now is working with the FAA to evaluate the fuel.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1113-full.html#197810

Capt. Kirk wrote: BackcountryChemist.org,

Capt. Kirk wrote:{Capt. Kirk, thinking he just clicked on BackcountryChemist.org, backs out slowly so as not to be noticed}

Bear_Builder wrote:

Capt. Kirk wrote:{Capt. Kirk, thinking he just clicked on BackcountryChemist.org, backs out slowly so as not to be noticed}

Was that a stil in the back of your Maule the other day??

Phil

N1593Y wrote:This was on the thread on the AOPA forum when SwiftFuels was announced back in May:

From the patent:

"4-cycle engine fuel
17.5 grams of ethyl acetate were mixed with 17.5 grams of 2-methyl furan. 60 grams of mesitylene were then added, followed by 5 grams of corn oil, to form 100 grams of fuel of the present invention. The mixture was stirred until all components were dissolved. The resulting solution was then analyzed, and found to have an effective MON of 142, and an optimum "

If you think acetone or alcohol are good solvents they are nothing compared to furan or ethyl acetate. (mesitylene is 1,3,5 trimethyl benzene)

You could not run through a single tankful of this "fuel" without dissolving every hose, sealant and elastomer in the fuel system.

It would take just two tankfuls to accumulate enough in the crankcase to destroy every seal in the engine.

There are no replacement gaskets or seals for aircraft that could be used with these chemicals.

Using furan and esters for octane has been tried but it destroys fuel systems.

Making trimethyl benzene from acetone, ethyl acetate from ETHANOL and methyl furan from pentosan sugars (from biomass) is MUCH more expensive than they claim.


Ed

__________________
Edward Kollin
Technical Director - Aircraft Specialties Lubricants
Makers of CamGuard
http://www.aslcamguard.com

a64pilot wrote:No,
Kirk I think it's Ed that has this place confused with Backcountrychemist
If you say so Ed, I believe you. I don't have any other choice because I have no idea what you said. I did get the bad part.

Capt. Kirk wrote:

a64pilot wrote:No,
Kirk I think it's Ed that has this place confused with Backcountrychemist
If you say so Ed, I believe you. I don't have any other choice because I have no idea what you said. I did get the bad part.

I think Ed may have mis-stated some of the facts. As you can see from the following diagram, the pi bonding-anti bonding orbitals come together to form a Y and a Z orbital in which the Z orbital tends to increase the sigma bonds thereby increasing the energy.



When these orbitals are subjected to blue dye and the high temperatures of an internal combustion engine, the bond order is reduced to 1.0 as can be seen by the following correlation diagram. When this happens in a sealed chamber constructed of machined steel and cast aluminum, the cast aluminum is forcefully and rapidly repelled from the hot cast steel...and when this happens, it means we can go fly!

Zane wrote:It does sound too good to be true, but I am hopeful. Maybe they'll find a crop of super-resilient inedible biomass that grows well vertically.

Maybe they'll find a crop of super-resilient inedible biomass that grows well vertically.