It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be referred to as being powered by elastic band. Now the skeptics might start having a dig at business airplane flying on everything from cooking oil to liquefied algae.
With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from increasing oil rates and environmental legislation, the race is on to find feasible options to standard kerosene and these so far appear to boil down to different 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 started 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 routine fuel and bio derivatives consisting of some from made from jatropha which can grow in soil considered too poor for growing mainstream 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 mentioned Jatropha jatropha curcas as one of the very best prospects 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 aeronautical major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation relocated to perform research study and advancement into making use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as strategic experts for the project.
The most recent airline company to start try out brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has conducted internal US flights using a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mixture, it is claimed, can cut harmful emissions by 10%.
One really motivating development has actually been the move away from biofuels which complete head on with food customers thus avoiding a rate spiral. Not so long ago, a surge in use of biofuels in automobiles triggered a spike in maize prices as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and motorists will focus biofuel intake on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a combined blessing indeed if some people wound up starving just to satisfy another person's green credentials.
1
Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Franziska Weiland edited this page 2025-01-18 02:33:32 +08:00