Avgas Alternative Undergoes Testing

Swift Enterprises Ltd., an Indiana-based energy development company, has developed a new proposed replacement for 100LL that it says is both cheaper and higher octane-rated than Avgas. The company’s general aviation fuel is made from landfill waste, sorghum, algae, wood chips and other feedstocks, and Swift says it will be more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly than any GA fuel on the market.

The company promises its new synthetic fuel can replace standard petroleum fuel (100LL) and provide greater effective range while costing about half as much to produce. The FAA’s Hughes Technical Center completed technical testing on Swift Fuel in mid-January, which does not constitute industry or FAA approval of the fuel, but is an initial examination of the concept. It has revealed that the new fuel has a slightly higher octane than 100LL, at 104.4, and an excellent resistance to detonation without lead as an octane booster.

The new fuel contains about 13 percent more heat value than Avgas but is also approximately one pound heavier per gallon. It meets most of the requirements of the ASTM D 910 standard for Avgas. The test results back up Swift’s own claims, with Todd Burrough, spokesman for Swift Enterprises, saying they have the only success when it comes to matching or exceeding petroleum in a high-octane aviation fuel. He said that the company’s own test runs showed the fuel to match all 44 specifications of the petroleum-based Avgas currently in use, outperforming petroleum by 15 percent.

Although Swift Enterprises’ bio-fuel currently costs $60 a gallon to produce at its small facility, Swift calculates that once it is in full-scale production, a manufactured price of under $2 a gallon is achievable, according to a proposal it presented to an industry research council last year.

Although Swift Fuel produces alcohol in its process, the fuel is not ethanol-based but rather combines acetone compounds derived from fermentation of biomass. Swift is continuing testing through 2009, and is seeking investors to fund further research and industrial roll-out of the product.

In addition to cost factors, Swift’s decision to develop aviation fuel was influenced by a potential Environmental Protection Agency ban on leaded aviation fuels. Swift has briefed the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on the new fuel, and AOPA spokesman Chris Dancy said that the fuel sounds very interesting but that many open questions remain. AOPA is obviously interested in exploring any alternative that has the potential to lower prices but, as Dancy commented, “Who knows if it will? That’s one of the questions.”

Swift is also in the process of gaining approvals from ASTM International and the Environmental Protection Agency. ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, sets technical standards, and in order for Swift to convince pilots, engine manufacturers and the rest of the general aviation industry that its fuel will work properly, it must earn ASTM approval.