1st biofuelblended IAF plane to take flight soon
If we do this well, we may never need to import crude oil for our armed forces. DR ANJANY RAY, D irector of the Csir-indian Institute of Petroleum
NEWDELHI: On November 19, a Russian made AN-32 of the Indian Air Force’s transport fleet will take to the skies from a base in the Western Sector using a mix of Aviation Turbine Fuel and Bio-fuel.
This is the first ever IAF aircraft to use the fuel blend.
After transporters, the helicopter fleet will fly using the Bio-aviation combination. “It will be a gradual move, and ultimately fighters like the SU-30MKI, Mig-29 will also use it,” a senior IAF officer who didn’t want to named said.
On an average, IAF flies over 100 transporter and over 500 helicopter sorties in a day. “Using Bio-jet blended fuel is a commitment towards lowering the oil import bill and lower the carbon footprint and strengthen the farmbased economy,” Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee, the IAF spokesperson said.
Two years ago, the IAF sent Wing Commander Asheesh Srivastava to study the use of Bio Aviation Fuel at the Centre for Air Power Studies. Subsequently, the Indian Institute Petroleum and the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification and the Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance were roped in.
“If we do this well we may never need to import crude oil for our armed forces. This biojet product looks smells and performs exactly like Aviation Turbine Fuel. If we are able to work this out as we anticipate, our aircraft, vehicles and warship can all bank on domestic reserves of indigenously developed and produced renewable fuel,” Dr Anjany Ray Director of the CSIR -Indian Institute of Petroleum said.
Every year, the IAF spends about ~40,000 crore on ATF. With Bio-aviation Fuel, it expects its fuel bill to drop by about 10 per cent. “Initially, the plan is to use a 90-10 mix (90 litres of AFT mixed with 10 litres of Bio-fuel), gradually, as the supply and production of Bio-fuel increases the plan is to move to a 75 -25 mixture,” a senior official involved with the process who didn’t want to be named said.
To ensure that production of Bio-fuel doesn’t affect the land available of food-grains, Bio-fuel will be produced only from non-edible oils that grow well in arid lands. Gujarat, for instance, offered 10,000 acres arid land to produce non-edible oilseeds. Other states that are keen to produce non-edible oil seeds and put up plants to produce Bio- Fuel include Punjab, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Telangana.
If the test flight that starts from November mid-week goes as planned, IAF will showcase its capability during the Republic Day fly past on January 26, 2019, a senior IAF official said.