Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
It's bad enough for some prop aircrafts to be referred to as being powered by rubber bands. Now the cynics might start having a dig at business aircraft flying on whatever from cooking oil to liquefied algae.
With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from increasing oil costs and environmental legislation, the race is on to discover feasible alternatives to traditional kerosene and these so far seem to come down to numerous types of .
Not remarkably, the very first trials of alternative fuel were initiated by British aviation pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with minimal biofuel usage in 2008. This was quickly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each utilized 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.
Jatropha is a genus of roughly 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the family Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs pointed out Jatropha curcas as one of the finest prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and insects, and produces seeds containing 27-40% oil.
Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aeronautical major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation relocated to bring out research and development into making use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airlines Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as tactical specialists for the job.
The most recent airline company to begin experimenting with brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has actually carried out internal US flights utilizing a mix of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is declared, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.
One truly motivating development has actually been the move away from biofuels which compete head on with food customers thereby avoiding a price spiral. Not so long earlier, a rise in usage of biofuels in vehicles caused a spike in maize rates as US farmers diverted too much corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airlines and drivers will focus biofuel intake on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a combined blessing indeed if some individuals ended up starving just to satisfy somebody else's green credentials.