It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be explained as being powered by elastic band. Now the cynics might begin having a dig at business airplane flying on everything from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from increasing oil costs and ecological legislation, the race is on to discover viable alternatives to conventional kerosene and these up until now seem to come down to numerous kinds of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the very first trials of alternative fuel were initiated by British aviation pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic started London to Amsterdam flights with restricted biofuel use in 2008. This was rapidly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used various blends of routine fuel and bio derivatives consisting of some from made from jatropha which can grow in soil thought about too poor for growing mainstream foods.
Jatropha is a genus of approximately 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 very best candidates for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to dry spell and pests, and produces seeds consisting of 27-40% oil.
Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aerial major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation relocated to carry out research and development into the use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airlines Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as tactical experts for the project.
The most recent airline company to start explore brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has actually carried out internal US a mix of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is claimed, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.
One truly motivating advancement has been the move far from biofuels which contend 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 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 and algae. It would be a combined blessing indeed if some people wound up starving simply to please somebody else's green credentials.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Jacob Verran edited this page 2025-01-18 07:14:45 +00:00