The "JAL Bio Jet Fuel Flight with 100,000 Items of Clothing" project aims to produce domestically produced biojet fuel using clothing as a raw material. The idea dates back to 2015.
The project was launched for technological development and social contribution.
Matsuo: "It all started when JAL cooperated with a project to run the American-made sports car "DeLorean," featured in the movie "Back to the Future," on fuel made from urban waste. The event was held by Japan Environmental Design Co., Ltd., a company involved in the recycling business, and we got talking about how it would be interesting to fly an airplane next, and so the project began."
These were the words of Tomoko Matsuo of the Brand Communication Promotion Department, who, as the person in charge of this project, made various arrangements to make it a reality.
Jet fuel used by airplanes is made by refining crude oil, a fossil fuel. Its properties are closer to kerosene than gasoline, and Japan imports a lot of it.
Kei Hirano from the Procurement Department, who is in charge of fuel procurement, continues:
Hirano: "Jet fuel is made from the same raw materials as gasoline and kerosene. During refining, the components are extracted by taking advantage of the difference in boiling points at which they are distilled. You may have seen a vehicle with a hose connecting it to the ground parked under the wing of an aircraft parked at the airport. This is the scene during refueling. More than 99% of the carbon dioxide emitted by the JAL Group comes from aircraft fuel. To reduce the environmental impact, we need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. That's why we've been paying attention to biojet fuel for some time now."
With the SDGs and environmental issues in the spotlight, reducing the environmental impact is a very important initiative for JAL. Therefore, we decided to promote the development and use of biojet fuel technology. We adopted the idea of using clothing because we thought it would help many people feel more familiar with reducing the environmental impact.
The raw material is "cotton". 250,000 items were collected and sorted.
Matsuo: "Because the project requires time and money, there was considerable debate about whether or not to go ahead with it. Ultimately, however, we decided to go ahead with it as we felt it was a necessary action for solving environmental issues and developing technology. As a first step in the project, we verified whether it was really possible to achieve. Biojet fuel was produced using existing domestic facilities, but we first spent more than six months visiting the facilities for each production process to confirm whether it was possible to produce it."
The project got underway in October 2018. With the cooperation of JEPLAN, 250,000 pieces of unwanted clothing were collected over a four-month period and sorted at the factory. The raw material for biojet fuel is not petroleum-based fabrics such as nylon and acrylic, but natural cotton. It was necessary to sort each item of clothing according to the cotton blend ratio.
Matsuo: "That was tough, but the real struggle began from there."
Problems abound. Manufacturing processes that could not be realized through "theory" alone
The manufacturing process for turning clothing into jet fuel relies on the power of microorganisms. Clothing containing cotton is saccharified to create a saccharified liquid, which is then mixed with a microorganism called Corynebacterium tuberculosis to produce isobutanol (alcohol). Jet fuel is then produced by concentrating this liquid and subjecting it to a catalytic reaction. The manufacturing process began in January 2019, and it was initially planned to be completed in about six months, but as this was an unprecedented first attempt, things often did not go according to theory, and things did not always proceed according to schedule.
Matsuo: "It took longer than expected, with additional manufacturing processes added along the way. We also ran into a number of unexpected challenges, such as the need to create a stable storage environment when storing the saccharified liquid, the raw fuel liquid, in the middle of winter to prevent it from bursting due to freezing. We ran into various difficulties, but with the technical support of Green Earth Institute Co., Ltd., we overcame them one by one and completed the fuel in March 2020."
In the same month, it passed the conformity test for ASTM D7566 Annex 5, the international standard for biojet fuel, and Japan's first 100% domestically produced biojet fuel was born.
Matsuo: "This is a big step forward for the domestic production of biojet fuel. I think it is very significant that we have been able to prove that it can be produced using domestic technology."
JAL continues to work towards becoming a "CO2-free airline"
Hirano: "Currently, biojet fuel needs to be mixed with jet fuel before it can be used. We mixed it with jet fuel in mid-June 2020, and it became possible to use it on flights."
Hirano: "Renewable jet fuel is 5 to 10 times more expensive than jet fuel. Renewable jet fuel is still in the development stage worldwide, and has not yet reached a level where it can be supplied steadily. That's why JAL itself has invested in an overseas renewable jet fuel production company, and not only will it be used on flights departing from overseas, but we have also begun efforts to deploy the technology domestically. We are working with several domestic companies, including Marubeni Corporation, to build a supply chain for domestically produced renewable jet fuel, and we hope to start using it on flights around 2025."
The JAL Group aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Among the various approaches, the use of biojet fuel is an essential element. We will continue our efforts with the aim of becoming a customer choice as an "airline that does not emit CO2" in the coming era. It seems that it is no longer a dream to have "flights of the future" flying around the world on fuel made from familiar materials.
We'll take you behind the scenes of JAL's work, including inside stories on the introduction of the A350 and the development of in-flight meal menus.
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
