Global Bioenergies completes SAF testing with Safran, ONERA
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology company Global Bioenergies announced that its SAF has been tested in collaboration with Safran on the injection phase, and with ONERA on the combustion phase.
“The various simulations carried out by the CERTAM demonstrator have enabled us to test the behavior of our fuel under various conditions representative of an aircraft engine. Injecting Global Bioenergies’ SAF, without blending it with kerosene, produces a spray of fine, homogeneous droplets, very similar to the spray from Jet A-1, the standard fossil kerosene. These tests are feeding into the data that enable a better match between engine and fuel,” said Frédéric Ollivier, chief technology officer at Global Bioenergies.
The company supplied a batch of SAF to aircraft equipment manufacturer Safran to evaluate the specific properties of Global Bioenergies’ SAF, used in its neat form, during the fuel injection phase prior to combustion in the engine.
Global Bioenergies said this is crucial to ensure, among other things, high efficiency and therefore lower fuel consumption. A test campaign was carried out near Rouen at CERTAM (regional innovation center of technological exchange in aerothermal and engines).
Meanwhile, French aerospace research center ONERA also conducted tests on a laboratory burner to quantify the particles emitted during combustion of Global Bioenergies’ SAF.
The company said that during the testing, emission levels were measured using neat SAF from Global Bioenergies, Jet A-1 as a control, and a blend of 50% SAF and 50% Jet A-1 (the maximum proportion currently authorised by ASTM when certifying Global Bioenergies’ process).
As part of the testing, the three batches of fuel were injected into the laboratory burner in order to quantify and characterise the non-volatile particles emitted during combustion, i.e. soot.
The results obtained using neat SAF from Global Bioenergies show a 40-99% reduction in soot emissions compared with Jet A-1 fuel, depending on the conditions tested in the laboratory.
The results obtained from the 50-50 blend show a reduction in particulate matter that is globally proportional to the SAF incorporation rate.
“Soot emitted during fuel combustion has an impact on air quality in airport areas. Incorporating SAFs such as Global Bioenergies’ into the fossil fuel landscape would help reduce soot emissions locally, and cut particulate pollution. Furthermore, from an environmental standpoint, SAF have a role to play in reducing net CO2 emissions thanks to the way they are manufactured,” said Louise Ganeau, research engineer at ONERA.