Navy Growler flies on 100 percent Biofuel

U.S. Navy photo by Adam Skoczylas A U.S. Navy Boeing EA-18G electronic attack aircraft completed a 100 percent biofuel powered flight ...

U.S. Navy photo by Adam Skoczylas

A U.S. Navy Boeing EA-18G electronic attack aircraft completed a 100 percent biofuel powered flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland in September.

Dubbed the "Green Growler" the aircraft flew using a bio JP-5 fuel produced from alternative sources, replacing the petroleum based JP-5, powering its two GE 414 turbofan engines.

"From takeoff to landing, you couldn't tell any difference," said Lt. Cmdr. Bradley Fairfax, project officer and test pilot with Naval Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, after the first test flight on Sept. 1.

"The information presented to us in the airplane is pretty simplified but, as far as I could tell, the aircraft flew completely the same as [petroleum-based] JP-5 for the whole flight he added."

The catalytic hydrothermal conversion-to-jet (CHCJ), the 100-percent drop-in renewable jet fuel tested, is produced by Florida-based Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global.

ARA's process uses the same feedstocks as the Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) 50-percent advanced biofuel blend previously approved by the Navy, but goes through a unique conversion process that provides a fully synthetic fuel that does not need to be blended.