Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Natural Gas
Air Force conducting cold weather test phase of GTL fuel in B-52
The US Defense Department has a number of initiatives in progress to try and reduce the armed forces' dependence on oil. This is for both political and tactical reasons. When many of the primary sources of your supplies cannot be counted among your friends, it's a good idea to change your ways. That's why the Air Force has been testing one of their B-52 bombers with a synthetic fuel mix blended with petroleum based jet fuel and gas to liquid fuel. The GTL fuel is made from natural gas via the Fischer-Tropsch method. The plane has been flying with the new fuel mixture since September and is currently nearing completion of cold weather testing in North Dakota. A final test report is due in June, but so far the plane has been working well with the new fuel.
[Source: Air Force Link]
