It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be referred to as being powered by rubber bands. Now the skeptics could begin having a dig at industrial airplane flying on everything from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil air travel market under increasing pressure from rising oil costs and ecological legislation, the race is on to find viable options to standard kerosene and these so far appear to come down to numerous types of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the first trials of alternative fuel were initiated by British aviation leader, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with limited biofuel use in 2008. This was quickly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used different blends of regular fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from jatropha curcas which can grow in soil considered too bad for foods.
jatropha curcas is a genus of around 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the household Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs cited Jatropha curcas as one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to dry spell and bugs, and produces seeds containing 27-40% oil.
Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aerial significant Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation transferred to perform research study and development into using biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as strategic experts for the project.
The most recent airline company to begin explore brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has actually conducted 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 damaging emissions by 10%.
One actually encouraging advancement has been the relocation away from biofuels which compete head on with food customers therefore preventing a cost spiral. Not so long ago, a surge in use of biofuels in automobiles triggered a spike in maize prices 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 mixed true blessing undoubtedly if some people wound up starving simply to satisfy someone else's green credentials.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Kelly Fossey edited this page 2025-01-18 18:49:57 +08:00