Fuel Optimization in Commercial Supersonic Aircraft

Challenges faced by past supersonic commercial aircraft manufacturers due to a lack of technological advancements have altered the perception of this type of aircraft. Lately, as new companies are aiming to pave the way for a resurgence, commercial supersonic planes still suffer a significant issue concerning their suboptimal use of fuel. In the past, airplanes such as the Concorde used a large, expensive and environmentally damaging fuel source; for a proper resurgence of supersonic commercial transport, an optimal fuel source must be found. This paper examines multiple fuel types capable of supporting supersonic travel in commercial aircraft using decision matrices to determine the most optimal. We define optimal with the following parameters: Ease of Production, Ease of Storage, Energy Density and Payload Capabilities. The following fuel types have been examined: Crude Oil Based fuels (Jet-A JP-8 etc.), Hydrogen, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). Each of these fuel types were considered with the above parameters in mind and then considered separately regarding sustainability (total carbon emissions), and economics in order to reach our goal. The decision matrices determined that there is no singular most optimal fuel for commercial supersonic aircraft. While Jet-A and JP-8 are the most energy dense and cost-effective fuels they lack in the environmental fields. The opposite is true of Hydrogen and SAFs. Hydrogen, while potentially being the most environmentally friendly, is not currently suitable for the long flight routes of supersonic transports. Hydrogen and SAFs are also considerably more expensive compared to Jet-A and JP-8. While further research is needed, the authors believe it is likely that the use of multiple fuel types for a variety of distances and payload types will minimize carbon emissions and cost.