Say the words “coal-powered engine,” and images of men shoveling black rock into the fiery
belly of a steam engine come to mind. However, liquid fuel made from coal instead of oil may
shoot the next generation of supersonic jets across the sky.
If flight speeds are to increase, jets will require new fuels that don’t fall apart chemically in
engines that become extremely hot, says fuel chemist John M. Andrésen of the Energy Institute