Environmental Benefits

Carbon Emission Reduction

is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, producing less pollutants when burned than all other fossil fuels. Methane, which when burned releases approximately 2.75kg of carbon dioxide per kg of methane. This is compared to traditional kerosene which releases approximately 3.1kg of carbon dioxide per kg of fuel burned. Natural gas also has a higher calorific heating value, meaning that more energy is released when a kg of LNG is combusted compared to the same mass of kerosene. The EPA (2011) estimates the CO₂ produced by LNG per unit of energy created purely from the combustion process to be roughly 26.5% lower than kerosene. However, this value does not take into account the emissions associated with production of the fuel. LNG would have higher emissions associated with the liquefaction and transport compared to kerosene. A complete lifecycle emissions analysis by Mody (2010) provided an estimate of the

CO₂reduction from using liquid methane compared to kerosene to be between 11% and 19%.

Although there will be some increased drag and mass associated with the wing pods, there will still be a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.