| Bauhaus Luftfahrt Aims for 35% More Efficient Flight |
| Written by Jack Moins | |
| Thursday, 14 February 2008 | |
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These aerospace firms are looking to cut carbon in different ingenious and outlandish ways. Reaction Engines got a lot of attention from ecogeeks when they announced their hypersonic, hydrogen fueled super-jet. Now another enterprising firm – German non-profit Bauhaus Luftfahrt – is making some waves of its own, promising emissions cuts of 35 percent by 2035, with many clever steps. One basic step they outline is the adoption of geared turbofan technology in conventional engines, resulting in a 15 percent reduction CO2 emissions. Next they recommend equipping these same engines with counter fans, upping the reduction by an another 5 percent. Finally by incorporating waste recuperation, another 15 percent efficiency could be squeezed out. And that’s not all – Bauhaus is also working on an exotic looking box-winged aircraft to further cut into reductions. The only downside is that the global aircraft fleet is expected to double by 2020, due to increased demand. Still this certainly doesn't detract from the excitement of work such as Bauhaus’s – it simply shows how much more essential it is. Comments
(7)
wind power?
written by johnny , February 14, 2008
It would probably be counter productive, and I don't know since I'm no expert in aerodynamics, but do you think it's possible to put wind turbines on the plane so when its flying it could collect power? Just a thought...
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written by rob , February 14, 2008
Putting wind turbines on a plane would increase drag and slow the plane, as they created the power. Needing more power to maintain flight, than the turbines would produce. You can't get something for nothing.
I was reading an interesting article recently, that suggested that hydrogen powered planes, would produce more global warming effect, than current jet engine powered planes. Because hydrogen powered planes release vast quantities of water vapour into the upper atmosphere, which is apparently more damaging than CO2.
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written by Jerome , February 14, 2008
Yeah, we should start thinking further about environmental friendly technology. I wish this invention will be able to be applied soon. Hopefully, the application of it would also impact in flight cost reducing.
It may actually save the industry...
written by Terence , February 15, 2008
The end of the above report says:
The only downside is that the global aircraft fleet is expected to double by 2020... This is not likely to happen since with Peak Oil here essentially now, fuel prices are likely to rise substantially. And considering much of the easy to get and sweet crude oil has peaked leaving only the more expensive and heavier oils, then it is clear the airline industry is going to be facing big problems. Therefore if these efficiencies gains can be realized they might just help ease the fuel burden in terms of costing less, using less and causing less emissions. It is worth noting when calculating the global warming effect of airplanes, it is not just the CO-2 emitted but also the water vapor trails have almost equal warming effect since this is injected so high in the atmosphere. So I presume using less fuel has the double benefit of not just reducing CO-2 but also water vapor emissions.
water vapor
written by John , February 16, 2008
you are correct on the water vapor thing, that is something i hope people have thought of, but if they cooled it and then released it, it would just be rain so not sure on that one
Turbines on wind driven ships, not plane
written by Adrian Akau , February 16, 2008
Ships moving at low speeds and using kites for power could extract power from turbines placed beneath the vessel since the wind would be driving both ship and turbine. What is needed is greater use of kites as presently they are used only to furnish a fraction of the required propulsion power.
adrianakau2aol.com
Contrail
written by Paul Makinson , February 18, 2008
A Hydrogen powered aircraft would release more water vapour into the upper atmosphere than an aircraft powered with normal jet fuel. With the low temperatures there is at high altitudes, the water vapour crystallises and forms a contrail (condensation trail), something planes already do. This contrail is extremely reflective, so the sunlight that would normally reach the earth and heat it bounces back into space. This actually reduces the greenhouse effect. This was demonstrated after the sept 11 attack when all planes in US airspace were grounded. Temperatures rose significantly due to clearer skies.
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