Airline claims natural gas flight ‘first’
Tuesday, 13 Oct, 2009
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A Qatar Airways aircraft flew from Gatwick to Doha powered by a fuel made from natural gas.
Claimed as the world’s first commercial passenger flight using this form of power source, the service was operated with an Airbus A340-600 aircraft using Rolls-Royce Trent 556 engines taking more than six hours.
The fuel, as an alternative to conventional oil-based kerosene, will contribute to diversification of aviation fuel supply, according to the airline.
It also burns with lower sulphur dioxide and particulate emissions than pure conventional oil-based kerosene, making it attractive for improving local air quality at busy airports, Qatar Airways said.
Shell developed and produced the 50-50 blend of synthetic Gas to Liquids (GTL) kerosene and conventional oil-based kerosene fuel.
Qatar is to become the world’s leading producer of GTL kerosene when it is put into commercial production from 2012.
The blend of conventional kerosene and GTL kerosene will be known as GTL Jet Fuel.
The flight was the latest step in more than two years of scientific work carried out by a consortium into the benefits of using GTL Jet Fuel to power commercial aircraft.
His Excellency Abdulla bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Qatar’s deputy prime minister and energy and industry minister, said: “Qatar’s position as the GTL capital of the world has been further enhanced with today’s achievement.
“GTL technology enables us to produce liquid fuels and other products from natural gas. Commercial aviation is one of the exciting new markets that this opens up, helping us maximise the value from our natural resources.”
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, who was on board the flight, said: “This milestone flight is the first step in making this alternative fuel available to airlines.
“Qatar Airways looks forward to continuing to work with the consortium members to further develop this exciting project and commit towards a cleaner environment.”
The GTL kerosene will be produced in commercial quantities by the Pearl GTL project, currently under construction by Qatar Petroleum and Shell. The project is expected to produce around one million tonnes per annum of GTL kerosene from 2012, enough to power a typical commercial airliner for half a billion kilometres (equivalent to carrying 250 passengers around the world 4,000 times) when used in a 50% blend to make GTL Jet Fuel.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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