20 February 2008
Airlines to reverse global warming
Planes will become major sources of atmospheric cooling
 SALT
LAKE CITY -- Airlines have long been the targets of environmentalists,
who point out that for every ton of jet fuel burned, two and a half tons
of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are produced. Because a single transatlantic flight can use in
excess of 200 tons of fuel, the impact on the environment is
significant.
Now, according to Boyd Reegan, president of Green Power Jet, Inc.,
that is about to change. In a meeting with the media here today, Reegan
said that his company has developed a commercial jet engine that will
leave the skies cleaner and actually result in "global cooling."
In a prepared statement, Reegan said, "Our revolutionary Greenovator™ jet engine instantaneously extracts and sorts chemical elements from the air.
Hydrogen and oxygen
are removed and burned as fuel to provide thrust, nitrogen molecules are
compressed into ice crystals which are released into the atmosphere to
cool the air, and a water byproduct simply evaporates."
Cynthia Yeaner, vice president of product development for Green Power
Jet, added, "Additionally, inlets located along the length of the
engine nacelle draws carbon dioxide into a compartment where it passes through a
special catalytic scrubber. There the carbon and oxygen atoms are
separated.
"The additional oxygen is injected into the combustion stream of the jet
increasing its power and efficiency while the carbon is mixed into a
slurry and shunted to a series of bladders located in the fuel tanks of
the aircraft's wings. As fuel is burned, the vacated space in the tanks is
filled with the carbon slurry. Upon completion of the flight, the
carbonized liquid is pumped out and eventually used in the manufacture of
lightweight carbon fiber parts for other aircraft."
Information from the company distributed to the media noted that half of the world's fleet of
commercial passenger jets could be
retrofitted with the Greenovator engines within seven years. And
Reegan indicated that his company is in talks with several major
carriers to replace all their engines even sooner.
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