It's bad enough for some propeller aircrafts to be described as being powered by elastic band. Now the cynics could start having a dig at industrial aircraft flying on whatever from cooking oil to liquefied algae.
With the civil air travel industry under increasing pressure from increasing oil rates and environmental legislation, the race is on to discover practical options to standard kerosene and these up until now seem to boil down to different kinds of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the first trials of alternative fuel were initiated by British aviation pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with restricted biofuel use in 2008. This was quickly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used various blends of routine fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from which can grow in soil considered too bad for growing mainstream foodstuffs.
Jatropha is a genus of around 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the family Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs mentioned Jatropha curcas as one of the best prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and pests, 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 advancement into the use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would serve as strategic specialists for the job.
The most recent airline to begin explore brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has actually 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 damaging emissions by 10%.
One truly encouraging advancement has been the relocation away from biofuels which compete head on with food customers consequently avoiding a rate spiral. Not so long earlier, a surge in use of biofuels in cars and trucks triggered a spike in maize rates 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 curcas and algae. It would be a mixed 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
katianhd597200 edited this page 2025-01-11 22:48:59 +00:00