Chevron Lummus joins ARA’s 100% drop-in aviation biofuel initiative

In New Mexico, ARA announced today that Chevron Lummus Global has joined the ReadiJet Alternative Fuel Initiative to develop drop-in biofuels for jet and diesel engines, eliminating the need for blending with petroleum.   The joint development effort combines ARA’s CH PROCESS technology with Chevron Lummus Global’s ISOCONVERSION process technology.  Commercial samples of ReadiJet™ fuel are currently being produced in anticipation of a number of key upcoming activities including ground engine testing at OEM facilities, a test flight planned for June 2012 and generation of fit-for-purpose data necessary for ASTM certification.

CLG’s Co-Managing Director, Leon DeBruyn, commented on the ARA-CLG relationship. “With the combination of ARA’s CH Process and CLG’s Isoconversion process technology, we can now produce fungible distillate fuels that meet full ASTM quality requirements and can be blended into refiners’ distillate fuel pools without the density and blending quality issues associated with other biodiesel processes on the market,” he said.

ARA scientists developed the CH Process using high temperature water to create biocrude.  A U.S. patent on the CH Process technology was granted to ARA in 2010.