Honeywell’s new mustard seed fuel powers 13,000km flight

Global technology company, Honeywell tests first trans-Pacific flight using a new biofuel made from Carinata seeds, a non-edible mustard seed. The company says that the 15-hour 13,000km journey marked the debut of Honeywell UOP Green Jet fuel.

The technology company claims that the new fuel can replace as much as half of the petroleum jet fuel used in flight, without changing the aircraft technology and still meet emission standards established by the ASTM, resulting in a potential 65 to 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard petroleum jet fuel.

The seed that makes this possible has a lot in common with other oilseed crops, such as canola, soybean and corn. The Carinata oil engineered by Agrisoma – a biofuel company – is extracted after crushing the seeds, however instead of human food consumption, the oil produced is intended for industrial use in the production of bio and jet fuels.

When pressed, this seeds yield half their weight in oils that is then refined into jet fuel by AltAir, at the world’s first commercial-scale renewable jet fuel plant in Paramount, California. The company states that with the first commercial Carinata seed crop expected in 2020, the new commercial aviation biofuel is poised to help reduce dependency on petroleum along with reducing emissions.