Ethyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (ETBE) as an aviation fuel: Eleventh international symposium on alcohol fuels

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:672199

Maben, G D; Shauck, M E; Zanin, M G

This paper discusses the preliminary flight testing of an aircraft using neat burning ethyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (ETBE) as a fuel. No additional changes were made to the fuel delivery systems which had previously been modified to provide the higher fuel flow rates required to operate the engine on neat ethanol. Air-fuel ratios were manually adjusted with the mixture control. This system allows the pilot to adjust the mixture to compensate for changes in air density caused by altitude, pressure and temperature. The engine was instrumented to measure exhaust gas temperatures (EGT), cylinder head temperatures (CHT), and fuel flows, while the standard aircraft instruments were used to collect aircraft performance data. Baseline engine data for ETBE and Avgas are compared. Preliminary data indicates the technical and economic feasibility of using ETBE as an aviation fuel for the piston engine fleet. Furthermore, the energy density of ETBE qualifies it as a candidate for a turbine engine fuel of which 16.2 billion gallons are used in the US each year.

• Research Organization: Baylor Univ., Waco, TX (United States). Dept. of Aviation Sciences
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG36-95GO10118
• OSTI ID: 672199
• Report Number(s): CONF-960488--3; ON: DE99001107
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
BIOMASS
ETHERS
GASOLINE
JET ENGINE FUELS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES