The products gathered from steel mill recycling contribute to many industries across the globe. And thanks to a new partnership between two massive companies, recycled steel is now helping another industry: the aviation industry.
Virgin Atlantic and LanzaTech, a low-carbon fuel company, have announced the creation of a new jet fuel made entirely from steel mill waste.
“This is a real game changer for aviation and could significantly reduce the industry’s reliance on oil within our lifetime,” said Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic. Branson adds that his company was actually the first airliner to perform bio-fuel experiments with their flights and is an industry leader regarding sustainable aviation.
According to Clean Technica, the partnership has managed to produce 1,500 gallons of jet fuel known as “Lanzanol.”
When it comes to the steel recycling sector, two out of every three tons of new stainless steel comes from old recycled byproducts, such as processing liquids and steelmaking dust. Now the products that have been recycled — mostly using carbon monoxide — can be used in all sorts of different ways including, most recently, the ability to fuel jets.
Although low-carbon fuel use has significantly decreased over the last 10 years, the technology is getting closer to the mainstream. And with corporations putting a renewed focus on sustainable energy products, the entire aviation sector could one day rely on alternative energy.
Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, Chief Executive of LanzaTech, is optimistic about the new discovery and thinks the ability to both produce aircraft steel parts and recycle necessary gasses will be great for the aerial industry and for the environment.
“This program illustrates that such breakthroughs are only possible through collaboration,” Holmgren added. “In this case, it is governments, laboratories, and industry coming together to disrupt our current global carbon trajectory. We look forward to working with colleagues past, present and future to make this pioneering new fuel a commercial reality.”
Aviation Tribune reports that the fuel could be first used to power a flight as early as 2017.
The steel industry, whether through the production of stainless steel or the recycled use of jet fuel, is important for companies and industries all over the world. If you want to learn more about the stainless steel strapping industry, contact Independent Metal Strap today!
