Oilfield & Energies

BASF and Lufthansa start in-service-evaluation of innovative water scavenger for jet fuels

BASF and Lufthansa have successfully started the In-Service-Evaluation (ISE) for BASF’s new water scavenger additive for jet fuel – Kerojet Aquarius. The ISE marks an important step in the commercialization for this innovative additive.

In the course of the ISE, BASF’s additive solution is used on designated flight routes on Airbus air planes. On July 24, the ISE started successfully with an Airbus A340-600 between Munich and San Francisco. The advantage of the additive is that cost intensive measures to extract water at mandatory intervals can be reduced as water accumulation will be minimized. In addition, time consuming and expensive stop overs in maintenance can be avoided, thereby increasing aircraft utilization and making the operation more cost effective.

“The implementation of Kerojet Aquarius will constitute a milestone in improving both flight safety and aircraft usage. Applying Aquarius will avoid the presence of ice in wing tanks and further improves the margins of safety”, says Thorsten Lange, Head of Fuel Purchasing Lufthansa Group.

“We are quite happy to have reached this key milestone for the commercialization of Kerojet Aquarius,” states Antonino Raffaele-Addamo, Head of Global Marketing Jet Fuel Additives, Fuel and Lubricant Solutions, BASF SE. “Reaching this point after many years of hard work and commitment as well as extensive testing has only been possible with a clear vision and long-term strategy in place. The very close team work between Lufthansa and BASF from the beginning of the project has been supported by many other leading industry partners in the aviation industry.”

Kerojet Aquarius is a unique and easy-to-use performance additive that supports water management in aircraft fuel systems as a critical safety and maintenance parameter for airlines. Kerojet Aquarius disperses the water contained in kerosene, respectively the fuel tank, and the water is removed from the aircraft’s fuel tank during the normal combustion process in the turbine.

BASF and Lufthansa expect the full details of the ISE to be available by the end of the year, after which the broader commercialization of Kerojet Aquarius is expected to start.