Agricultural crops grown and used for fuel oil production. As being trialled (used?) already.
Oh sure, they grow those here. The problem is I hear that they give more in subsidies to grow the oil than the oil is actually worth.
I reckon military aviation could well be the last user of oil as a fuel, carrying on when every other user has switched to other fuels.
snafu352 seems more informed than either of you.
Air Force jets perform first flyover using alternative fuel
“The Air Force is committed to reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign petroleum and is pursuing environmentally-friendly, domestically-produced alternative biofuel blends for our entire fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft,” said Dr. Kevin Geiss, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy.
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“If anyone doubts the potential of these fuels, consider Brazil,” said President Barack Obama during his March 30 remarks on U.S. energy security. “Already more than half of Brazil’s vehicles can run on biofuels. And just last week, our Air Force used an advanced biofuel blend to fly an F-22 Raptor faster than the speed the sound. In fact, the Air Force is aiming to get half of its domestic jet fuel from alternative sources by 2016.”
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The Air Force is testing and evaluating biomass fuels derived from three different feedstocks: camelina (plant seed oil), beef tallow (animal fat) and various waste oils and greases.
To date, the service has tested and certified biofuel as a 50-percent blend with regular jet fuel in the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the F-15 Eagle, the C-17 Globemaster III and the F-22.
The Air Force has fully certified C-17s to fly on the biofuel blend and certification of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the aircraft flown by the Air Force’s demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, is imminent, Geiss said. Fleet-wide certification is on track for completion in 2013.
The service’s long-term goal, Geiss explained, is to acquire 50 percent of all stateside fuel from domestically-produced alternative blends that are cleaner than fuel produced from conventional petroleum.
Navy Secretary Pushes for Alternative Energy Use
Release Date: 1/26/2011 2:37:00 PM
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNS) — The secretary of the navy reached out to prominent industry leaders during a Washington, D.C., summit Jan. 25, in an effort to have them incorporate the use of alternative fuels in their push for a clean economy.
During the Clean Energy Summit, Secretary Ray Mabus began his review of the effects converting the Department of the Navy (DoN) from fossil fuels to alternative fuels will have on the economy on a basic level.
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Mabus said the dependence on fossil fuel continued to produce bad results during the time of war by endangering Sailors and Marines charged with guarding convoys bringing energy to bases and machinery. He urged that the solution to this reliance and resulting war and loss of lives is the utilization of alternative fuels.
He relayed information about DoN flying an F/A-18 with a camelina-based biofuel and a MH-60 Seahawk helicopter on an algae-based biofuel. Mabus said substitutions such as this would reduce the need for altercation caused by limited availability.
“Neither feedstock impacts the food supply,” said Mabus. “Camelina can be planted in rotation, and algae – well, it’s grown in a pond.”
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The use of cotton-seed by Marines in Sangi, Afghanistan, was also presented by Mabus as an example of alternative energy at its best. Through this pilot program, Mabus said Marines have reduced the amount of fossil fuel they use by 20 percent. As a consequence, Marines utilize fuel convoys less.
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