U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --
Bacteria that can survive on jet fueI 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 actually 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 and have a carbon source."
But the research Cadet Stralka is doing also will help him in the future when he leaves the academy.
"I just recently got accepted into medical school, so I'll be pursuing a career as a physician for the Air Force," he said. "Biochemistry is just everywhere, especially with the human body. The proteins, the DNA sequencing, the genes that we're looking at, certain parallels to all living things, so certainly there are parallels in that regard."
Major Rauch said while that problem isn't unique to Air Force aircraft, the 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. 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 Air Force aircraft, the research could also help show how to clean up the environment by finding a way to use the fuel eating bacteria to clean up fuel spills.
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