Renewable Fuel for Your Aircraft: Bioaviation Fuel Quality Continues to Improve

31 Jul 2012

The aviation industry is at the center of the adaptation of biofuels. Why? Fuel quality is vital to the safety of any aircraft in flight.

Today’s expert blogger is Kurt Tyssen, Business Development Manager Biofuels, EAME, Intertek. Kurt is in based in Antwerp and has been leading the biofuels and bioaviation fuel services business for Intertek within the European region.

The aviation industry is at the center of the adaptation of biofuels. Why? Fuel quality is vital to the safety of any aircraft in flight. Couple that with the increase of energy-efficient standards and the use of renewable fuels becomes more and more of a necessity – especially since aviation fuel must meet relevant industrial specification and be free from other products, unapproved additives and
contaminants.

Typically, thee risk for potential fuel contamination is high so monitoring the quality at several points during the distribution chain is mandatory — not just for fossil aviation fuel, but even more for bio aviation fuels. But are there regulations to ensure quality of this fuel use for aircrafts?

The answer is simple: Yes. Today, several guidelines and standards have been established to control the quality of aviation fuel. Typical characteristics to be tested are composition, volatility, fluidity, combustion, corrosion, stability, contaminants and lubricity characteristics. The Joint Inspection Group (JIG) produces guidelines for aviation fuel quality control and operating procedures for jointly operated supply and distribution facilities.

While new guidelines and standards are important and amendments continue to be made to this type of fuel testing, it remains equally important to keep the fuel clean and without pollutants.

What questions do you have about fuel testing for aviation? Please leave your comments below and one of our experts will get back to you.