1 Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum

Marissa Shipman edited this page 2 months ago

It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be referred to as being powered by rubber bands. Now the cynics might begin having a dig at industrial airplane flying on whatever from cooking oil to melted algae.

With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from rising oil prices and environmental legislation, the race is on to find viable options to standard kerosene and these so far seem to come down to numerous types of biofuel.

Not surprisingly, the very first trials of alternative fuel were started by British air travel leader, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic started London to Amsterdam flights with restricted biofuel use in 2008. This was rapidly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used various blends of routine fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from jatropha which can grow in soil considered too poor for growing mainstream foods items.

jatropha curcas is a genus of around 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha jatropha curcas), from the household Euphorbiaceae.

In 2007 Goldman Sachs pointed out Jatropha jatropha curcas as one of the very best prospects for future biodiesel . It is resistant to drought and bugs, and produces seeds including 27-40% oil.

Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aeronautical major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation relocated to perform research and advancement into making use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airlines Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as tactical experts for the task.

The current airline to start experimenting with new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has performed internal US flights utilizing a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is claimed, can cut harmful emissions by 10%.

One truly motivating development has been the move away from biofuels which compete head on with food consumers therefore avoiding a rate spiral. Not so long ago, a rise in use of biofuels in vehicles caused a spike in maize rates as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.

Hopefully in the future, airline companies and vehicle drivers will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a combined blessing indeed if some people wound up starving just to satisfy another person's green qualifications.