Emissions Worldview
BY BILL SIURU, PHD, PE

The guided-missile destroyer
USS McCampbell receives
fuel from the replenishment
oiler USNS Pecos during a re-
fueling at sea. (U.S. Navy
photo by Mass Communi-
cation Specialist 2nd Class
Byron C. Linder.)

Greener Navy to Sail, and
Fly, on Alternative Fuels

The Secretary of the U.S. Navy, Ray Mabus, recently outlined the Navy’s future energy plans. This includes the overall goal of obtaining half of the total energy consumption for ships, aircraft, tanks, vehicles and shore installations from alternative sources by 2020.

While the cost of fuel is important, the strategic implications of depending on petroleum that comes from unfriendly countries is perhaps even more critical. Like all of the federal government, the military is required to reduce its carbon footprint and combat global climate change. Indeed, the Department of Defense is leading the rest of the U.S. government when it comes to the development of clean and renewable energy sources.

In addition to many conservation-oriented efforts to reduce fuel usage, there are several alternative fuel programs aimed at using both biofuels and synthetic fuels. For example, by 2011

Bill Siuru, PhD, PE, is a technical writer based
in Temecula, California, U.S.A.

the U.S. Air Force intends to certify every aircraft in its inventory for alternative fuels, namely a 50/50 blend of JP- 8 and Syntroleum’s FT fuel. It has already certified or is currently certifying the B- 52, C- 17 and B-1B on this alternative fuel. “FT” stand for the Fischer-Tropsch process used to produce the synthetic fuel.

The Navy also has a major alternative fuels program to develop biofuel alternatives for its F-76 ship propulsion fuel that is used for shipboard boilers, gas turbines and diesel engines, as well as JP- 5 aircraft fuel. JP- 5 is essentially the same as JP- 8, the U.S. military’s standard fuel used in everything from aircraft and helicopters to trucks and tanks, however, JP- 5 has a substantially higher flash point, which is needed for safety reasons aboard ships.