The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Wright-Patterson starting to build alternative fuels plant

UDRI makes breakthrough with new rechargeable battery
11/20/09
UDRI’s new battery great for electric cars
11/20/09
Wright-Patterson project contract challenge dismissed
11/20/09
Union, Behr reach tentative agreement
11/20/09
AK Steel to raise prices for carbon steel
11/20/09
> More headlines

Staff Report 10:04 AM Monday, November 9, 2009

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The base is starting construction of a facility that can make 15 to 25 gallons a day of fuel from coal and biomass materials, to support efforts by the Air Force Research Laboratory and University of Dayton Research Institute to develop alternative fuels for Air Force planes.

Officials scheduled a ground-breaking ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, on base for what will be known as the Assured Aerospace Fuels Research Facility. Rhecors General Contractors, of Dayton, has the $2.5 million contract to build it. Construction is to be done in September 2010.

The Air Force Research Laboratory and the university have an ongoing joint research effort intended to provide the Air Force with a reliable, domestic source of fuel that will be an alternative to increasingly expensive, petroleum-based fuel from foreign countries.

The new facility will be designed to produce enough of the experimental fuels for research.

The AFRL has provided a $10 million grant to support the project.

Last month, UDRI hired synthetic fuels chemist Heinz Robota to lead the university’s work with the new fuels facility.

Share this article

ADD COMMENT

Comments feed

Coal? Really? Seriously? We're ok with black lung and mountain top removal? We're ok with killing people and plants and animals to shave off a few miles per gallon? I'm not. I wish we'd try something better, newer, more fuel efficient. We need to use the best brains in the nation to come up with something better!

Really?
11:14 AM, 11/10/2009

REPORT ABUSE

Excellent news! Let us now transfer this technology to the private sector and utilize the
massive quantities of coal that the Good Lord
has so richly blessed our country with! And in the mean time dump this nonsense of cap-n-trade
and DRILL HERE DRILL NOW!

R U Kidding Me
8:33 PM, 11/9/2009

REPORT ABUSE

We welcome your comments. Please remember this is a public forum and behave appropriately. Your comments must conform to our visitor's agreement.