what will jet planes use when the earths oil reserves are used up?

Question

because cars can use change to lpg

because cars can change to lpg

Answer 1

As stupid as this will sound it is possible to turn water into fuel.H2O hydrogen and oxygen can be split then all you need is heat which can be obtained through compression. An Australian invented a car that could be run on water back in the 70's. I don't know how (otherwise i would be very rich) it is done but it is possible to do.Obviously no government will allow it 'cos if we can get free fuel they can't tax it.

Answer 2

I would imagine some chemical concoction will be made. Using Alchol and hydrogen peroxide. this is expensive but when you have nothing else what are you going to do? There is the possibility the propeller will make a come back as they could be run on fuel cells powering electric motors that turn the props. Most airliners cruise at 500 Knts. This is well within the performance range of the new props developed by NASA. The new props are very noisy but work and are fuel efficient not that it would make a difference on a fuel cell powered plane.

Answer 3

I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but years of working as an aircraft mechanic has taught me that jet's will basically run on about anything that you can pump through their fuel systems that will burn.

The engines from the Gulfstream IV were only run on natural gas before being attached to the airframe to make an airshow 20 or so years ago. The key right now, to getting better performance out of turbine engines is in the metallurgy of the hot section of the engine, the section where fuel is injected into the combustion liners and ignited.

In the operating handbook of most turbine aircraft, you'll find a list of the various things it will run satisfactorily on in an emergency; ranging from automotive gasoline and avgas, to diesel, home heating oil, generic kerosene, etc, pretty much anything flammable. They're frequently placarded at the refueling doors as being able to operate on anything from JP3-JP8, Jet A, Jet A-1, and Jet B, (a much older fuel consisting of aviation kerosene cut with gasoline.)

One powered by vegetable oil cut with something to reduce gelling and entrained water is not unfathomable and neither is ethanol.

I read about a plant, 18 or 19 years ago, that when pressed, will produce an oil that will run diesel engines. Diesel and Jet A, being largely interchangeable for ground operations, this poses an interesting thought for a cash crop.

Fly the friendly skies!

Answer 4

Hydrogen is out because the required energy density is not available; the fuel tanks required would be too big to be economically viable to push the aircraft through the air. Ethanol is a bad choice because it's heavier by the gallon then gasoline and jet fuel, and it has less energy, so you need more of it. Biodiesel is a plausible choice, but it's not necessarily a good thing to make the entire surface of the earth a fuel farm; look at the problems in indonesia from palm oil production. Right now, liquified coal appears to be a good choice; the USAF is doing tests on it right now. There's still a lot of coal available.

Answer 5

Research is already underway across the globe working on alternative source of energy like Nuclear, Hydro and Cell Fuel etc.

When the time nears ( in quite a few years to come) the jet plane engine manufacturers will start adapting for the new fuel(s) sources............... If not, we will be going back to travelling by boats and steam engine trains. :o)

Answer 6

Cooking oil! After all jets run on basically a refined form of diesel fuel, and they are trying cooking oil in diesel cars, it only makes sense that McDonald's will be selling its used oil to the airlines.

Answer 7

That will be so far in the future that jet planes (at least as we know them) will be found only in museums and collections.

Edit: BTW research has already been done in the 1950's with nuclear-powered aircraft (NB-36 et al).

Answer 8

At first, the Air Forces will turn to SCRAM jets, but unfortunately, there is no escaping the fact that if we want to carry on living the life we do, then nuclear power is something that we simply cannot, and will not, ignore for long. There is already talk of secret US military research into nuclear powered jets. Freaky! God help us!

Answer 9

The NB-36 was not powered by nuke reactor. It was a test plane to see the reaction of insurmentation to radiation. I believe that we will not run out of oil in the lifetimes of our great grand kids.

Answer 10

Hydrogen