It's bad enough for some propeller airplanes to be referred to as being powered by elastic band. Now the cynics could begin having a dig at industrial aircraft flying on everything from cooking oil to melted algae.
With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from increasing oil prices and environmental legislation, the race is on to find viable alternatives to conventional kerosene and these up until now appear to come down to various kinds of biofuel.
Not surprisingly, the very first trials of alternative fuel were started by British air travel pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with minimal biofuel use in 2008. This was quickly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used different blends of routine fuel and bio derivatives including some from made from jatropha which can grow in soil considered too bad for growing mainstream foods items.
Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha jatropha curcas), from the household Euphorbiaceae.
In 2007 Goldman Sachs mentioned Jatropha curcas as one of the very best candidates for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to dry spell and pests, and produces seeds consisting of 27-40% oil.
Recently, US Boeing, Brazilian aerial significant Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation transferred to bring out research and advancement into the use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airline companies Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would act as tactical consultants for the job.
The latest airline company to begin 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 actually been the relocation away from biofuels which contend head on with food consumers consequently avoiding a cost spiral. Not so long back, a rise in usage of biofuels in automobiles triggered a spike in maize rates as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.
Hopefully in the future, airlines and motorists will focus biofuel consumption on non-food sources such as jatropha and algae. It would be a combined blessing indeed if some individuals wound up starving just to please somebody else's green qualifications.
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Airlines Focus On Biofuel Trials Gather Momentum
vernellhollick edited this page 2025-01-12 18:20:21 +08:00