Naval Aviation Logistic Fuel Desulfurizer

Altex Technologies Corporation and Penn State University (PSU) have developed and demonstrated desulfurizers from 20 watts to 10 kWe for different logistic fuels and different fuel cell applications. In particular a 10 kWe Logistic Fuel Sulfur Removal (LFSR) system has been developed for Navy shipboard applications that effectively removes sulfur from JP-5. While LFSR is effective in desulfurizing JP-5, it is not directly applicable to aviation applications. Naval aviation requires a desulfurizer that is ultra compact, light weight, fast start, and flight worthy to 70,000 altitude and is able to withstand flight vibration and potential crash shock. All these requirements are met by the proposed Naval Aviation Logistic Fuel Desulfurizer (NAVLFD) that will effectively reduce the JP-5 sulfur from 3000 ppmw to a level suitable for PEM fuel cell. Innovations are included to make the system ultra compact, flight worthy, vibration and shock proof and meet other stringent aviation requirements. Under the proposed Phase I, the NAVAIR and ONR inputs will be used to refine the NAVLFD design. A breadboard unit will be developed, fabricated, tested and delivered for independent testing. This unit will not be optimized for weight and volume but will be a reasonably compact NAVLFD that will receive JP-5 and clean it to below 1 ppmw sulfur level. During a successful Phase II, the unit will be refined and optimized to and improved to deliver a flight worthy NAVLFD.