Air Force Week Lunch includes latest on Air Force synthetic fuels

  • Published
  • By Catherine Cornett
  • Hilltop Times staff
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UTAH --  The sun was hot, the day was young, and students, scientists, and everyday people alike ventured up to the fourth floor of the Salt Lake City Library on June 3 to learn more about synthetic fuels, enjoy lunch and to perhaps pick the brains of two very distinguished speakers.

After attendees loaded their plates and grabbed a refreshing glass of water, Peter Giles, executive director of The Leonardo, which co-sponsored the event with USTAR, stepped forward to introduce the speakers for the day: Colonel Jack Kelley, of the Ogden Air Logistics Center and Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, as well as Dr. Jeff Muhs, executive director of the Utah State University Energy Lab.

Col. Kelley began his speech by talking about one of today's hottest topics: our country's dependence on foreign oil. "Not only does foreign dependency cause stress and frustration for everyday people with $4 per gallon gas prices, it also causes risks for the military," Col. Kelley explained.

Due to the risks and need to end foreign dependency, the Air Force is turning toward synthetic fuel to solve the problem. Col. Kelley described the requirements the Air Force has set in place for its synthetic fuel, including the need for the fuel to have the same characteristics as that currently in use and that the fuel have a low carbon impact.

Currently the Air Force is working on certifying all aircraft for use with a coal-based synthetic fuel, Col. Kelley said.

The synthetic fuel being certified now meets most of the requirements the Air Force has set down, with one notable exception. At 180 percent, its carbon impact is almost double that of the regular jet fuel, Col. Kelley said.

Amazingly, algae-sourced synthetic jet fuel meets all the requirements stated by the Air Force. However, the technology is still young, but the Air Force hopes that algae-based fuel will turn out to be even better than the synthetic fuel being certified now.

"There are some things about algae that are kind of nice," Col. Kelley said.

Muhs also believes that algae can solve several of the United States' interdependency challenges, including the dependency on foreign oil and the increase of greenhouse gases.

"Algae is a partial solution," Muhs said. It's productive, you can grow it on marginal land, in the desert and even in wastewater.

Muhs quoted National Geographic in stating, "There is no magic bullet fuel crop ..." There are still challenges, such as high costs and the need for energy and other resources to produce and cultivate the algae.

"The future of fuel is going to be a very complex issue in the future," he said.

The Air Force may have to wait awhile before its jets can run on algae-based fuel. Rob Simmons, a USTAR employee whose focus is on fossil fuels, thinks that they might be waiting for a long time.

"Renewables will grow, but it will be awhile before there's an impact," Simmons said.

Despite a possibly long wait ahead, Col. Kelley, Muhs, and many others are working hard to produce environmentally friendly fuels that lower costs for civilians and the Air Force, and they are looking into new ways of doing that.

According to the Leonardo Group Web site, Lunch with Leo is a series of quarterly lunchtime discussions bringing together local researchers, business and opinion leaders, policy makers and public administrators in interactive discussions about current science and technology topics and how they impact society. The series is sponsored by The Leonardo and USTAR, in partnership with the Utah Technology Council and the Association for Corporate Growth.