Coconut oil jet fuel?

[Safe-Keeper]

I see this making the rounds and thought it sounded too good to be true, so what better place to share it than at a skeptics forum.

Supposedly, Japanese chemist have discovered you can run jet engines on coconut oil (or, okay, coconut oil-derived biofuel). Even better than on jet fuel, according to them.

Haven't seen any real news sites cover this either, which is another red flag.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236126019630?via%3Dihub#s0010

 

[Norman Alexander]

The skies will smell of south Indian curry.

 

[bigred]

I've seen similar "green" fuel claims before. I'll get excited when it's put into mainstream use.

 

[Orphia Nay]

There's a long thread on Sustainable Fuels. (Which probably should be moved to this forum, not be in Social Issues.)

Thread 'Sustainable Fuels'

Jul 13, 2025

Formula 1 racing moves to fully 50/50% hybrid V6 engines in 2026, but the longer term plan is to move to V8 or even V10 cars running on sustainable fuels.

The FIA President thinks sustainable fuel V8s should be possible in 2029.

V8 engines to return? FIA president reveals possible timeline in ‘right way forward’ update

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said the V8 engine proposal is "the right way" to go for Formula 1, as he offered a possible introduction date.

www.planetf1.com

“It’s about reaching the [Net Zero] numbers when it comes to the environment. If we can reach it this way or that way, who cares?"


Airlines, too, are working on sustainable fuels...

• Orphia Nay
• aviation formula one fuel sustainability sustainable development sustainable energy sustainable fuel
• Replies: 476
• Forum: Social Issues

 

[rjh01]

The problem with making fuel out of food is that it will be expensive. It will be better to use solar cells to generate electricity. The best fuel for plances will be either hydrogen or methane. Both should be able to be made from electricity.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

How much land would be required to fuel the aviation economy?

 

[Puppycow]

Global coconut oil production reached approximately 3.025 million to 3.12 million metric tons, recovering by about 7% to 10.8% in the 2025/2026 season following a tighter supply period in 2025.

Global jet fuel consumption is approximately 1 million metric tons per day (roughly 1,021,000 metric tons per day), based on current consumption rates of about 7.99 million barrels per day. [1]

So about 3 million metric tons of coconut oil is produced per year, whereas about 1 million metric tons of jet fuel is consumed per day. Unless there's a way to drastically increase coconut oil in a reasonable way, it seems like this could only be a very marginal technology. Maybe that's only because there hasn't been more demand for coconut oil than 3 million tons per year, but it could easily be increased if there were more demand? I rather doubt it though.

 

[theprestige]

The paper looks a little more reasonable than I expected:

Highlights​ A novel co-solvent method efficiently produces aviation biofuels from coconut oil. Combustion tests of FAME or FAEE blends with kerosene were conducted using a micro jet engine. Biofuel blends showed comparable thermal efficiency but higher specific fuel consumption. CO2 emissions of biofuel blends were consistent with kerosene, minimizing environmental impact. The study provides insights into SAF’s environmental and performance implications.

Skimming the abstract, it seems to be just that. "FAME" and "FAEE" are fatty acid methyl ester and fatty acid ethyl ester, the alcohols mentioned in the Highlights section.

So it might actually be a promising alternative in some applications. One big issue, as others have pointed out, is that the land allocation for biofuels is colossal, if we're talking about full replacement. Another big issue, that I don't see mentioned as much, is the entire supply chain leading up to a gallon of biofuel. Where are these ester alcohols coming from? Where's the energy coming from to make them? How much energy is it?

I like the final highlight: "The study provides insights into SAF’s environmental and performance implications." I think the big insight studies like this provide might well be "biofuels just ain't it, guys."