CADETS RESEARCH FUEL LINE BACTERIA

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steve German
  • Air Force News Agency
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Bacteria that can survive on jet fuel is not something one might think about. But, that same microscopic bacteria can bring down a multi-million dollar aircraft.

Cadet 1st Class Jonathan Stralka peers at a small tube filled with jet fuel. Inside is the culprit responsible for fouling jet engines with a type of slime. That slime is a byproduct of microscopic bacteria that eats jet fuel.

Maj. Michelle Rauch, assistant professor of chemistry at the Air Force Academy, said the goo has been an ongoing problem for aircraft.

"Ever since we've been flying jets we've realized bugs can grow in our fuel," she said. "Essentially bacteria and fungus need a carbon source and jet fuel is made up of long hydrocarbon chains, so it's a really great way for them to chew up the hydrocarbon chains."

Rauch said Air Force's missions contribute to the problem.

"We're taking off, we're landing in lots of different places, we de-fuel, we refuel in the air," she said. "So if you think about how we pass colds to one another, if there is bacteria in the fuel system, it can be transferred from point to point to point because our fuel system tends to be so ubiquitous."

While this research will help prevent problems with aircraft, it also could help show how to clean up the environment by finding a way to use the fuel eating bacteria to clean up fuel spills.