Study: 3 Types of Alternative Jet Fuel May Be Available Over Next Decade

A joint MIT/RAND study of the near-term commercial feasibility of alternative jet fuels has concluded that three types of alternative jet fuels may be available in commercial quantities over the next decade: Jet A derived from Canadian oil sands and Venezuelan Very Heavy Oils (VHO); Fischer-Tropsch (FT) jet fuel produced from coal, a combination of coal and biomass, or natural gas; and hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HRJ) produced by hydroprocessing renewable oils.

The study compared five different groups of potential alternative jet fuels on the basis of seven criteria: compatibility with existing aircraft and infrastructure; maturity of the fuel-production technology; near-term production potential; near-term production costs; life-cycle GHG emissions (