TUSLA, Okla., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Tulsa, Okla.-based Syntroleum said its jet fuel, made with Fischer-Tropsch technology, was tested successfully on a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress Bomber.
"The program culminating in the test flight today is the first step in opening up new horizons for sourcing fuel for military purposes," Bill Harrison, a fuels expert with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, said in a statement released Tuesday.
The plane lifted off from Edwards Air Force Base, in California, with fuel that was a 50-50 blend of FT and traditional JP-8 jet fuel, the statement said.
"This marks the first time that FT jet fuel has been tested in a military flight demo, and is the first of several planned test flights," the statement said.
Syntroleum produced the fuel at its FT demonstration facility near Tulsa, Okla. The flight was part of the Defense Department's Assured Fuel Initiative, which aims to develop secure domestic sources for the military's energy needs. The pentagon wants to cut its use of foreign crude and by 2016 wants to get half its aviation fuel from alternative sources.
"This historic flight demonstrates that our fuel can meet the stringent fuel requirements of the DOD and we believe that this successful test can provide the military with the necessary data to validate the quality and integrity of our product," Jack Holmes, president and CEO of Syntroleum, said in the statement.
Syntroleum owns a proprietary process to convert natural gas or synthesis gas derived from coal and other carbon-based feedstock into synthetic liquid hydrocarbons.
