It's bad enough for some prop planes to be referred to as being powered by elastic band. Now the skeptics could begin having a dig at business aircraft flying on whatever from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil aviation industry under increasing pressure from increasing oil prices and ecological legislation, the race is on to find viable alternatives to traditional kerosene and these so far seem to boil down to numerous kinds of biofuel.
Not remarkably, the very first trials of alternative fuel were started by British air travel leader, 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 utilized various blends of regular fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from jatropha curcas which can grow in soil considered too poor for foods items.
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 cited Jatropha curcas as one of the very best prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds consisting of 27-40% oil.
Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aeronautical major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation moved to perform research and advancement into making use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would act as tactical specialists for the task.
The most recent airline company to begin exploring 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 claimed, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.
One truly motivating development has actually been the relocation away from biofuels which complete head on with food consumers thereby avoiding a cost spiral. Not so long ago, a rise in use of biofuels in vehicles caused a spike in maize rates as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and motorists will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha and algae. It would be a combined true blessing undoubtedly if some individuals wound up starving just to please another person's green qualifications.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Waldo Mayne edited this page 6 days ago