Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum

It's bad enough for some prop aircrafts to be explained as being powered by rubber bands. Now the skeptics might begin having a dig at industrial airplane flying on whatever 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 find feasible alternatives to conventional kerosene and these so far seem to come down to various types of biofuel.


Not surprisingly, the very first trials of alternative fuel were started by British aviation pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose started London to Amsterdam flights with minimal biofuel use in 2008. This was rapidly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each utilized various blends of regular fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from jatropha which can grow in soil considered too poor 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 very best candidates 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 relocated to perform research study and advancement into using biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would act as tactical experts for the task.


The most recent airline to begin explore brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has carried out internal US flights utilizing a mix of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is declared, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.


One really motivating advancement has been the move far from biofuels which contend head on with food customers consequently avoiding a cost spiral. Not so long earlier, a rise in use of biofuels in cars and trucks caused a spike in maize prices as US farmers diverted too much corn to fuel processing.


Hopefully in the future, airline companies and vehicle drivers will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha and algae. It would be a blended true blessing undoubtedly if some people wound up starving just to satisfy someone else's green qualifications.