Lufthansa is testing BASF’s new “water scavenger” additive for jet fuel to remove water from fuel tanks on aircraft.

The aim of the “Kerojet Aquarius” solution is to reduce “cost-intensive measures to extract water at mandatory intervals”. In addition, time-consuming and expensive stop overs for maintenance can be avoided.

Kerojet Aquarius disperses the water contained in kerosene, and the water is removed from the aircraft’s fuel tank during the normal combustion process in the turbine.

Improving safety

Lufthansa tested the additive on an Airbus A340-600 during a flight from Munich to San Francisco on July 24, and further trials are planned on “designated” routes on Airbus planes.

The solution could help avoid the presence of ice in wing tanks and “further improves the margins of safety”, said Thorsten Lange, Head of Fuel Purchasing, Lufthansa Group.

BASF and Lufthansa expect the full details of the trial to be available by the end of the year.

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