IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i7p1575-d1617617.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Use of Jet A Aviation Fuel Blended with Biodiesel and Alcohols as a Sustainable Aviation Fuel: A Review

Author

Listed:
  • Radu Mirea

    (Romanian Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines—COMOTI, 061126 Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

The present paper is a review of the use of different types of blends of Jet A aviation fuel with biodiesel and alcohols, respectively, as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The scientific literature published from 2017 to 2024 was addressed and highlighted that the use of Jet A fuel blended with alcohols and biodiesel has gained attention as a potential pathway to reducing aviation emissions and enhancing sustainability. Alcohol-blended Jet A fuels, such as ethanol and methanol mixtures, offer advantages including lower carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions due to their improved combustion efficiency. Similarly, biodiesel blends contribute to reduced particulate matter (PM) and CO emissions, while their oxygen content promotes cleaner combustion. Both types of blends have the potential to decrease the aviation sector’s carbon footprint and enhance fuel diversification. However, several gaps and limitations remain, including lower energy density leading to increased fuel consumption, material compatibility issues, increased nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions, and concerns over fuel stability. Further research is needed to optimize blend ratios, improve combustion control strategies, and ensure the safe and efficient integration of these alternative fuels in aviation.

Suggested Citation

  • Radu Mirea, 2025. "The Use of Jet A Aviation Fuel Blended with Biodiesel and Alcohols as a Sustainable Aviation Fuel: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-16, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:1575-:d:1617617
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1575/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1575/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tamás Mizik & Gábor Gyarmati, 2021. "Economic and Sustainability of Biodiesel Production—A Systematic Literature Review," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Rudolf Andoga & Ladislav Főző & Martin Schrötter & Stanislav Szabo, 2021. "The Use of Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel for Small Turbojet Engines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Mendez, C.J. & Parthasarathy, R.N. & Gollahalli, S.R., 2014. "Performance and emission characteristics of butanol/Jet A blends in a gas turbine engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 135-140.
    4. Altarazi, Yazan S.M. & Abu Talib, Abd Rahim & Gires, Ezanee & Yu, Jianglong & Lucas, John & Yusaf, Talal, 2021. "Performance and exhaust emissions rate of small-scale turbojet engine running on dual biodiesel blends using Gasturb," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raji, Abdulwasiu Muhammed & Manescau, Brady & Chetehouna, Khaled & Ekomy Ango, Serge & Ogabi, Raphael, 2025. "Performance and spray characteristics of fossil JET A-1 and bioJET fuel: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    2. Ashok, B. & Usman, Kaisan Muhammad & Vignesh, R. & Umar, U.A., 2022. "Model-based injector control map development to improve CRDi engine performance and emissions for eucalyptus biofuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    3. Buffi, Marco & Valera-Medina, Agustin & Marsh, Richard & Pugh, Daniel & Giles, Anthony & Runyon, Jon & Chiaramonti, David, 2017. "Emissions characterization tests for hydrotreated renewable jet fuel from used cooking oil and its blends," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 84-93.
    4. Talal Yusaf & Mohd Kamal Kamarulzaman & Abdullah Adam & Sakinah Hisham & Devarajan Ramasamy & Kumaran Kadirgama & Mahendran Samykano & Sivaraos Subramaniam, 2022. "Physical-Chemical Properties Modification of Hermetia Illucens Larvae Oil and Diesel Fuel for the Internal Combustion Engines Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-17, October.
    5. Oleksandra Shepel & Jonas Matijošius & Alfredas Rimkus & Olga Orynycz & Karol Tucki & Antoni Świć, 2022. "Combustion, Ecological, and Energetic Indicators for Mixtures of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) with Duck Fat Applied as Fuel in a Compression Ignition Engine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-24, October.
    6. Enagi, Ibrahim I. & Al-attab, K.A. & Zainal, Z.A., 2018. "Liquid biofuels utilization for gas turbines: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 43-55.
    7. Chen, Longfei & Zhang, Zhichao & Lu, Yiji & Zhang, Chi & Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Cuiqi & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2017. "Experimental study of the gaseous and particulate matter emissions from a gas turbine combustor burning butyl butyrate and ethanol blends," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 693-701.
    8. Małgorzata Pawlak & Michał Kuźniar, 2022. "The Effects of the Use of Algae and Jatropha Biofuels on Aircraft Engine Exhaust Emissions in Cruise Phase," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-10, May.
    9. Sallevelt, J.L.H.P. & Gudde, J.E.P. & Pozarlik, A.K. & Brem, G., 2014. "The impact of spray quality on the combustion of a viscous biofuel in a micro gas turbine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 575-585.
    10. Baraka Kichonge & Thomas Kivevele, 2024. "Sustainable biofuel production in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Exploring transesterification process, nonedible feedstocks, and policy implications," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), May.
    11. El-Zoheiry, Radwan M. & EL-Seesy, Ahmed I. & Attia, Ali M.A. & He, Zhixia & El-Batsh, Hesham M., 2020. "Combustion and emission characteristics of Jojoba biodiesel-jet A1 mixtures applying a lean premixed pre-vaporized combustion techniques: An experimental investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 2227-2245.
    12. Yifan Wang & Laurence A. Wright, 2021. "A Comparative Review of Alternative Fuels for the Maritime Sector: Economic, Technology, and Policy Challenges for Clean Energy Implementation," World, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-26, October.
    13. Mustafa Hamurcu & Tamer Eren, 2023. "Multicriteria decision making and goal programming for determination of electric automobile aimed at sustainable green environment: a case study," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 211-231, June.
    14. Suchocki, T. & Witanowski, Ł. & Lampart, P. & Kazimierski, P. & Januszewicz, K. & Gawron, B., 2021. "Experimental investigation of performance and emission characteristics of a miniature gas turbine supplied by blends of kerosene and waste tyre pyrolysis oil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    15. Escalante, Edwin Santiago Rios & Ramos, Luth Silva & Rodriguez Coronado, Christian J. & de Carvalho Júnior, João Andrade, 2022. "Evaluation of the potential feedstock for biojet fuel production: Focus in the Brazilian context," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    16. Marcin Zieliński & Marcin Dębowski & Joanna Kazimierowicz & Ryszard Michalski, 2024. "The Emissions of a Compression-Ignition Engine Fuelled by a Mixture of Crude Oil and Biodiesel from the Lipids Accumulated in the Waste Glycerol-Fed Culture of Schizochytrium sp," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-23, October.
    17. Gunerhan, Ali & Altuntas, Onder & Caliskan, Hakan, 2024. "Analyzing the influence of feedstock selection in pyrolysis on aviation gas turbine engines: A study on performance, combustion efficiency, and emission profiles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    18. Hazar, Hanbey & Telceken, Tugay & Sevinc, Huseyin, 2022. "An experimental study on emission of a diesel engine fuelled with SME (safflower methyl ester) and diesel fuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    19. Tian, Zhi & Zhen, Xudong & Wang, Yang & Liu, Daming & Li, Xiaoyan, 2020. "Combustion and emission characteristics of n-butanol-gasoline blends in SI direct injection gasoline engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 267-279.
    20. Yilmaz, Nadir & Atmanli, Alpaslan, 2017. "Sustainable alternative fuels in aviation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P2), pages 1378-1386.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:1575-:d:1617617. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.