Contrail cirrus account for the major share of aviation’s climate impact. Yet, the links between jet fuel composition, contrail microphysics and climate impact remain unresolved. Here we present unique observations from two DLR-NASA aircraft campaigns that measured exhaust and contrail characteristics of an Airbus A320 burning either standard jet fuels or low aromatic sustainable aviation fuel blends. Our results show that soot particles can regulate the number of contrail cirrus ice crystals for current emission levels. We provide experimental evidence that burning low aromatic sustainable aviation fuel can result in a 50 to 70% reduction in soot and ice number concentrations and an increase in ice crystal size. Reduced contrail ice numbers cause less energy deposition in the atmosphere and less warming. Meaningful reductions in aviation’s climate impact could therefore be obtained from the widespread adoptation of low aromatic fuels, and from regulations to lower the maximum aromatic fuel content.

The Future Fuels project combines research in several institutes of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) on the production and use of synthetic fuels for space, energy, transportation, and aviation. This article gives an overview of the research questions considered and results achieved so far and also provides insight into the multidimensional and interdisciplinary project approach. Various methods and models were used which are embedded in the research context and based on established approaches. The prospects for large-scale fuel production using renewable electricity and solar radiation played a key role in the project. Empirical and model-based investigations of the technological and cost-related aspects were supplemented by modelling of the integration into a future electricity system. The composition, properties, and the related performance and emissions of synthetic fuels play an important role both for potential oxygenated drop-in fuels in road transport and for the design and certification of alternative aviation fuels. In addition, possible green synthetic fuels as an alternative to highly toxic hydrazine were investigated with different tools and experiments using combustion chambers. The results provide new answers to many research questions. The experiences with the interdisciplinary approach of Future Fuels are relevant for the further development of research topics and co-operations in this field.

The influence of selected single-component hydrocarbons on lean blowout behavior of swirl-stabilized spray flames was investigated. Additional information on the spray characteristics was collected...