It's bad enough for some propeller planes to be explained as being powered by rubber bands. Now the skeptics might 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 costs and ecological legislation, the race is on to discover practical alternatives to conventional kerosene and these up until now seem to boil down to various kinds of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the very first trials of alternative fuel were started by British aviation leader, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with minimal biofuel usage in 2008. This was rapidly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used different blends of regular fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from jatropha curcas which can grow in soil thought about too poor for growing mainstream foods.
Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha jatropha curcas), from the family Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs cited Jatropha curcas as one of the best prospects for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and insects, and produces seeds including 27-40% oil.
Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aerial major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation transferred to perform research and development into making use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as strategic consultants for the job.
The most current airline to begin explore brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has performed internal US flights utilizing a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is declared, can cut harmful emissions by 10%.
One really encouraging development has actually been the relocation away from biofuels which complete head on with food consumers thus avoiding a rate spiral. Not so long back, a surge in use of biofuels in automobiles triggered a spike in maize costs as US farmers diverted too much corn to .
Hopefully in the future, airline companies and vehicle drivers will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha curcas and algae. It would be a combined true blessing certainly if some individuals wound up starving simply to satisfy another person's green qualifications.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
Tamika Ruff edited this page 2025-01-12 10:45:24 +00:00