It's bad enough for some propeller planes to be described as being powered by elastic band. Now the skeptics might begin having a dig at business aircraft flying on everything from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil aviation industry under increasing pressure from rising oil rates and environmental legislation, the race is on to find practical alternatives to conventional kerosene and these up until now appear to come down to different types of biofuel.
Not remarkably, the first trials of alternative fuel were initiated by British air travel pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with limited biofuel usage in 2008. This was rapidly 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 curcas which can grow in soil thought about too bad for growing mainstream foods.
jatropha curcas is a genus of around 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the household Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs cited Jatropha curcas as one of the best prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds containing 27-40% oil.
Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aerial major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation transferred to bring out research and advancement into using biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as tactical specialists for the task.
The newest airline to start explore brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has performed internal US flights using a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mixture, it is declared, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.
One truly motivating advancement has been the move far from biofuels which contend head on with food consumers thereby preventing a rate spiral. Not so long back, a surge in usage of biofuels in cars and trucks triggered a spike in maize prices as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and vehicle drivers will focus biofuel intake on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a mixed blessing indeed if some individuals ended up starving just to satisfy somebody qualifications.
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Airlines Concentrate On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Charli Mcpherson edited this page 9 months ago