It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be described as being powered by elastic band. Now the cynics could start having a dig at industrial aircraft flying on everything from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil aviation industry under increasing pressure from increasing oil rates and environmental legislation, the race is on to discover viable options to traditional kerosene and these so far appear to boil down to numerous types of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the very first trials of alternative fuel were started by British aviation pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with minimal 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 including some from made from jatropha curcas which can grow in soil thought about too bad for foods items.
Jatropha is a genus of roughly 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha jatropha curcas), from the family Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs mentioned Jatropha curcas as one of the very best prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to dry spell and insects, 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 transferred 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 serve as tactical consultants for the project.
The current airline company to start try out brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has carried out internal US flights using a mix of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is declared, can cut damaging emissions by 10%.
One truly motivating advancement has been the move away from biofuels which complete head on with food consumers therefore preventing a rate spiral. Not so long ago, a surge in usage of biofuels in cars triggered a spike in maize rates as US farmers diverted too much corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and motorists will focus biofuel usage on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a blended blessing undoubtedly if some individuals ended up starving simply to please somebody else's green qualifications.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
rolandofix3839 edited this page 2025-01-18 09:29:11 +08:00