Can A Green Revolution Really Save Britain’s Crisis-Stricken Aerospace Industry?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Telegraph.
This is the sub-title.
The Prime Minister has set a challenging target of green flights within a generation, but is it a sustainable plan?
I have read the whole article, which is mainly about Velocys and their project at Immingham to create aviation biofuel from household rubbish.
They say the main problem is scaling up the process to get enough jet fuel. When I was working at ICI in the early 1970s, modelling chemical processes, scale-up always loomed-large as a problem.
Nothing changes!
I think we’ll get to our carbon-neutral objective, for aviation, but it will be a mixture of things.
- Aviation biofuel.
- All-electric airports.
- Efficient aerodynamics and engines.
- Electric short-haul aircraft.
- Rail substitution for short flights.
Traditional aerospace must reform itself or die!
As to Velocys, they must solve their scaleup problem, so that all suitable household and industrial rubbish ends up doing something more useful, than beinmg incinerated or nuried in landfill.
The Anonymous Widower 
Electric/battery hybrid planes are being looked at. One jet fuel bypass engine as the generator with others having small efficient electric motors turning the fans. They can land over urban areas on battery only.
Seaplanes over water:
https://www.theengineer.co.uk/plane-sailing-the-seaplane-of-the-future/
Comment by John | July 7, 2020 |