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Aviation Fuel

Using LPG, Propane as aviation fuel is relatively rare, yet there have been already attempts around the world. 

LPG, which is used quite broadly in the automotive industry may indeed also be used in aircraft or helicopter engines. Comparing gas alternatives, the biggest advantage of LPG is that its storage is much easier than the storage of natural gas. LPG can be kept in liquid form under 3 bar pressure. There is no need for cryogenic tank and equipment such as the ones use for LNG.

Other advantage of LPG is that it’s lighter compared with jet fuels in the same volume. The benefit obtained from its weight provides, for example, the possibility of taking more load on the aircraft. Since the use of LPG reduces the overall weight of the aircraft, fuel consumption also is reduced.

Although it is recent that we hear more about the use of alternative fuels in aviation engines, steps towards this direction had begun already a few decades ago.

An example is the Mil Mi-8, a medium twin-turbine helicopter, produced by Russia. In late 1990’s, a prototype of this helicopter was launched with the conversion to operate on LPG. The Mi-8TG's engines had the capability to run on LPG alone, aviation fuel alone or any mixture of the two. The TG's flight characteristics proved practically as good as with traditionally fueled variants and even superior in low ambient temperature conditions. 

Conducted experiments, case studies and researches in this area over the past few years prove that we are only at the beginning of new discoveries. Composite technologies have further helped in reducing the weight of tanks, hence making LPG an even more compeling alternative.

 

 

Benefits

  • Green, clean burning alternative fuel
  • Less expensive than Jet fuel
  • Safer than many other fuels
  • LPG is an alternative fuel available almost everywhere