It's bad enough for some prop airplanes to be referred to as being powered by elastic band. Now the skeptics could begin having a dig at commercial aircraft flying on whatever from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil air travel industry under increasing pressure from increasing oil costs and ecological legislation, the race is on to find viable options to conventional kerosene and these so far seem to come down to various types of biofuel.
Not remarkably, the first trials of alternative fuel were started by British aviation leader, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin 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 which can grow in soil considered too poor for growing mainstream foods items.
Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha jatropha curcas), from the household 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 aerial major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation moved to carry out research study and development into the usage of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would serve as strategic experts for the task.
The most recent airline company to start try out new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has conducted internal US flights using a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is claimed, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.
One really motivating advancement has been the relocation away from biofuels which complete head on with food consumers therefore avoiding a rate spiral. Not so long ago, a surge in usage of biofuels in cars and trucks triggered a spike in maize prices as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and drivers will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha and algae. It would be a blended true blessing undoubtedly if some individuals wound up starving simply to satisfy another person's green qualifications.
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Airlines Concentrate On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Maria Greenwell edited this page 7 days ago