Swafea - Onera-led SWAFEA study issues initial report at Toulouse conference
Are alternative fuels the way forward for the aviation industry? Are they technically and
economically viable? Are they acceptable from the standpoint of our environment and
society as a whole? What are the investment priorities for R&D and deployment? These
were just some of the main questions raised by the SWAFEA (Sustainable Way for
Alternative Fuel and Energy in Aviation) conference held in Toulouse on February 9-10,
2011. Financed by the European Commission, SWAFEA is a 26-month study involving 18
partners1 led by Onera, the French aerospace research center.
Today, two technologies are serious candidates for the short-term use of biofuels in aviation. The first, “biomass to liquid” (BtL), uses the Fischer-Tropsch process to convert any organic material, especially lignocellulosic plants, into a liquid fuel. The second is the hydroprocessing of vegetable oils, a process that involves eliminating the oxygen contained in these oils to convert them into a hydrocarbon. The fuels produced via these two processes may be mixed with conventional Jet A-1 fuel at a ratio of about 50-50. While the first process has been approved, the second is awaiting approval.