Green diesel powers 757 ecoDemonstrator

Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757 has achieved first flight with U.S.-made "green diesel" as fuel, advancing the ecoDemonstrator pro...

Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757 has achieved first flight with U.S.-made "green diesel" as fuel, advancing the ecoDemonstrator program's mission to accelerate the testing and use of technologies to improve aviation's environmental performance.

In cooperation with NASA, the 757 flew on June 17 from Seattle to NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., using a blend of 95 percent petroleum jet fuel and 5 percent sustainable green diesel, a biofuel used in ground transportation.

Boeing is working with the aviation industry to approve green diesel for commercial aviation by amending the HEFA biojet specification approved in 2011. This would make aviation biofuel more widely available and price competitive with Jet A including U.S. government incentives.

Diamond Green Diesel in Norco, La., produced the 757's green diesel from waste animal fats, inedible corn oil and used cooking oil to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent less than petroleum jet fuel.

Among more than 15 technologies on the 757, Boeing has begun testing solar and thermal "energy harvesting" to power electronic windows, as a way to reduce wiring, weight, fuel use and carbon emissions. Also, on the 757's flight deck, Boeing has installed a 3D-printed aisle stand made from excess carbon fiber from 787 production to re-purpose this high-value material and reduce airplane weight and factory waste.

This spring, under contract with NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project, the ecoDemonstrator 757 tested active flow control on the vertical tail and bug-phobic coatings on the right wing. With the exception of Boeing proprietary technology, NASA's knowledge gained by collaborating with Boeing on ecoDemonstrator research will be publicly available to benefit the industry.

Since it was launched in 2011, the ecoDemonstrator Program has tested more than 50 technologies with a Next-Generation 737 (2012), 787 (2014) and 757 (2015).