EcoSeed

A Yale University study found that the desulfurization of jet fuel could have a small, net cooling effect on the atmosphere.

While the Federal Aviation Administration has encouraged the use of desulfurized jet fuel to potentially improve air quality in airports and reduce risk of respiratory and cardiovascular illness, the Yale study points to another beneficial effect.

Sulfur-laden jet fuel, when burned, form sulfate particles that scatter solar radiation into space. It thus contributes to warming when sulfur is removed from jet fuel. However, the formation of nitrate from nitrogen oxides in jet exhaust offsets this by its own cooling effect.

"It's a win-win situation, because the sulfate can be taken out of the fuel to improve air quality around airports and, at the same time, it's not going to have a detrimental impact on global warming," said Nadine Unger, an assistant professor of climate science at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

The study used a model that assessed the impact of reducing the amount of sulfur in jet fuel from 600 milligrams per kilogram of fuel to 15 milligrams per kilogram, the level targeted by the United States Department of Transportation.

A paper on the study, authored by Ms. Unger and entitled "Global Climate Impact of Civil Aviation for Standard and Desulferized Jet Fuel" was published in Geophysical Research Letters in October. – Katrice R. Jalbuena