Join Our Members List For Exclusive Reports






    2011 Paris Air Show: ZEHST, the hypersonic aircraft by EADS
    June 20, 2011

    Here is the ZEHST, a project of hypersonic plane that runs on biofuel and hydrogen.

    Designed by the The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, in cooperation with Japan, as part of a program funded by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of both countries (military applications such as UAV’s are also considered), it relies on three existing engines, each corresponding to a flight phase:

    – Phase 1 take off and up to 5,000 meters (~ 15,000 feet, altitude)

    Two standard turbojets operating with a fuel based on seaweed (biofuels 3.0) allow it to reach Mach 0.8 

    – Phase 2, up to 23,000 meters (~ 69,000 feet, altitude)

    Cryogenic engines fueled with hydrogen (3 rocket engines), take over.

    – Phase 3 Stratosphere and up to 32,000 meters (~ 96,000 feet, altitude)

    At this altitude, conventional fuels are not a threat for our atmosphere anymore, the Zehst can then reach Mach 4 thanks to 2 Ramjets. 

    Is it for 2050? 

    No, the first flights are announced for 2021, capacity 50 to 100 passengers, estimated flight times in Tokyo Paris or Los Angeles, 2 hours and 30 minutes.

    Note: We remind you that the second-generation biofuels including those which are camelina-based can now officially be used in civil aviation without any engine modifications,

    from: www.technologicvehicles.com/en/actualite-mobilite-verte/954/salon-d%C2%ADu-bourget-zehst-lavion-hypersonique-de

    ===

    More About Camelia Sativa

    Camelina sativa, usually known in English as camelina, gold-of-pleasure, or false flax is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae which includes mustard, cabbage,rapeseed, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts. It is native to Northern Europe and to Central Asian areas, but has been introduced to North America, possibly as a weed in flax.

    Camelina needs little water or nitrogen to flourish, it can be grown on marginal agricultural lands and does not compete with food crops. It may be used as a rotation crop for wheat, to increase the health of the soil.

    It has been traditionally cultivated as an oilseed crop to produce vegetable oil and animal feed. There is ample archeological evidence to show it has been grown in Europe for at least 3,000 years.

    Until the 1940s, camelina was an important oil crop in Eastern and Central Europe which was used in oil lamps until the modern harnessing of natural gas and propane and electricity and as an edible oil.

    The crop is now being researched due to its exceptionally high levels (up to 45%) of omega-3 fatty acids, which is uncommon in vegetable sources.

    Because of its apparent health benefits and its technical stability, gold-of-pleasure and camelina oil are being added to the growing list of foods considered as functional foods. It is also of interest for its very low requirements for tillage and weed control. This could potentially allow vegetable oil to be produced more cheaply than from traditional oil crops, which would be particularly attractive to biodiesel producers looking for a feedstock cheap enough to allow them to compete with petroleum diesel and gasoline.

    Great Plains – The Camelina Company began research efforts with camelina over 10 years ago. They are currently contracting with growers throughout the U.S. and Canada to grow camelina for biodiesel production. A company in Seattle, Targeted Growth, is also developing camelina.

    More about Algae Fuel

    Algae fuel might be an alternative to fossil fuel and uses algae, or, sometimes, to use a more up-to-date term, cyanobacteria, as its source of natural deposits. Several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital and operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially-viable. The production of biofuels from algae does not reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), because any CO2 taken out of the atmosphere by the algae is returned when the biofuels are burned – except where flue gas emissions are captured and recycled as feedstock in an enclosed growth system such as that under development at 3 coal fired power stations in Australia. They also potentially reduce the introduction of new CO2 by displacing fossil hydrocarbon fuels.

    High oil prices, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources, and the world food crisis, have ignited interest in algaculture (farming algae) for making vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol and other biofuels, using land that is not suitable for agriculture. Among algal fuels’ attractive characteristics: they do not affect fresh water resources, can be produced using ocean and wastewater, and are biodegradable and relatively harmless to the environment if spilled.

    Algae cost more per unit mass (as of 2010, food grade algae costs about $5,000 per ton), due to high capital and operating costs, yet can theoretically yield between 10 and 100 times more energy per unit area than other second-generation biofuel crops. One biofuels company has claimed that algae can produce more oil in an area the size of a two car garage than a football field of soybeans, because almost the entire algal organism can use sunlight to produce lipids, or oil. The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles which is only 0.42% of the U.S. map. This is less than one seventh the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000. However, these claims remain unrealized, commercially. According to the head of the Algal Biomass Organization algae fuel can reach price parity with oil in 2018 if granted production tax credits.

    Contributed by

    Contact

    Alexandra Bruce

    View all posts

    Add comment

    *** Medical Emergency Kit *** Use Promo Code “KNOW” for 10% Off!

    *** Medical Emergency Kit *** Use Promo Code “KNOW” for 10% Off!

    kit

    Most Viewed Posts

    Categories