It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be described as being powered by elastic band. Now the cynics might start having a dig at commercial airplane flying on everything from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from rising oil rates and environmental legislation, the race is on to find feasible options to standard kerosene and these so far seem to come down to different kinds of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the first trials of alternative fuel were started by British aviation pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic started London to Amsterdam flights with restricted 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 consisting of some from made from jatropha curcas which can grow in soil considered too bad for growing mainstream foodstuffs.
jatropha curcas is a genus of roughly 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the household Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs pointed out Jatropha curcas as one of the best prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to dry spell 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 perform research and development into making use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would act as strategic specialists for the project.
The current airline company to begin try out brand-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 mixture, it is declared, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.
One actually motivating development has actually been the move away from biofuels which compete head on with food customers therefore preventing a cost spiral. Not so long ago, a rise in usage of biofuels in automobiles triggered a spike in maize prices as US farmers diverted too much corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and motorists will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a blessing indeed if some people wound up starving simply to please another person's green qualifications.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Victor Blewett edited this page 2025-01-13 21:57:01 +08:00