A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Researchers at Washington State University have developed a process for turning waste plastics into sustainable jet-A. If refined and applied on a major scale, the procedure could address two urgent environmental problems: greenhouse gas emissions and plastic pollution.

 


Described in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/chem-catalysis/fulltext/S2667-1093(21)00023-3">Chem Catalysis</a>, the process employs polyethylene, the most common plastic worldwide that is&nbsp;used in everything from milk jugs to plastic bags and composite lumber. While this plastic can be recycled, less than 10 percent currently is in the U.S. The most common recycling method of melting and remolding produces a lower-quality product, while chemical recycling is a long process requiring high reaction temperatures that makes it uneconomical for industrial purposes.

 


Through their new process, the researchers were able to convert 90 percent of the plastic amount to jet fuel or other hydrocarbon products in less than an hour, with the end result determined by adjusting the variables such as temperature, time, and amount of reaction catalyst applied.

 


“Depending on the market, they can tune to what product they want to generate,” said Chuhua Jia, the lead graduate student on the project. “The application of this efficient process may provide a promising approach for selectively producing high-value products from waste polyethylene.”

 


The next steps involve scaling up the process, which the researchers believe can be effectively adapted to use other types of plastics. A similar project involving the conversion of difficult-to-recycle plastics into jet fuel was <a href="https://web.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2021-02-24/uk-firm-seeks-turn-waste-plastic-jet">launched earlier this year in the UK</a>.

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

University Researchers Turn Plastic into Jet-A

Researchers at Washington State University say they have developed a process for turning waste plastics into jet fuel.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Manufacturer says solar power is part of efforts to reduce environmental footprint 

Solar Panels Now Power Gulfstream’s Mesa Service Center

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News about commercial airlines, including regulations, aircraft orders, safety, acquisitions, and mergers.

Green Flyways initiative is considering the potential for MD Aircraft's eViator commuter

Partners Trial Electric Air Services in Norway and Sweden

Charlotte Bailey

News, issues, personnel, equipment and developments about air traffic management.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

UK’s ‘Operation Blue Skies’ to redirect commercial traffic in Shanwick airspace

North Atlantic Airspace-Scale Contrail Trial Underway

Emissions reduction indexes will help contrast economics with compliance mandates

Argus Releases Sustainable Aviation Fuel Evaluation Tool

Government-funded consortium to aims to connect remote communities 

Project SEAN Trials Electric Flights For Scotland

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Shift could come as the state's tax incentives change

Louisiana Could Supplant California as SAF Leader

New three-year campaign will design, build, and fly wing extension devices

WoT? Experimental Elongated Airbus Wings To Fly Next Year

Cristofer Slotoroff

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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