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Bio jet-fuel: fact or fiction?
The new trend among all sorts of green energies is in bio-fuels, those combustible fluids made from renewable sources such as switch grass, corn or soybeans. They're all over the place in the automotive industry, millions of cars burning E38, offering flex fuel options and touting their eco consciousness.It should only follow that the airline industry jumped on the wagon.
But how valid is the concept of using bio-fuels to power an aircraft? From the combustion standpoint, the science is there, and several airlines have already proved that bio-fuels can be used for propulsion. Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and JAL have all operated international flights with partially loaded eco-fuels, while stateside, Continental has also shown positive results in one of their Boeing 737 aircraft.
Could this all just be part of the marketing eco trend though? ANZ's 747 on which they performed their bio fuel test was scrapped last year after sitting on the idle tarmac, and ever since the main media hump earlier this year, jet bio fuel tests have been pretty mum. The fact of the matter is, irrespective of the source or processing, eco fuel just isn't as efficient as anything from fossil sources. And when it comes to the bottom line, we all know that the airlines love to be frugal.
Asked about the current market's readiness towards bio fuel, out source inside of the production industry was cautious, saying " ... there are some unsubstantiated claims out there and things like stunts with test flights do not have anything to do with the readiness of the fuel on a production basis for air travel."
Take that for what it's worth, but it sounds like eco-fuels have a long way to go before entering the mainstream air travel industry.
Filed under: Business, Airlines, Ecotourism, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
david Oct 15th 2009 6:04PM
I think it is a hard time for the industry right now. The movement to go green started when the business was doing better. Now, most airlines are not willing to pay more to be green. Instead looking to have people bring on less weight (ie: http://www.airlinereporter.com/?p=1797) which uses less fuel (and also less money).
Also, I think there is a movement going on more than just the aircraft. Airlines are also looking at using bio fuels for the ground equipment, which does cut down on a lot of carbon dioxide.
Plus, even without looking at the environment, bio fuels can help countries create self-supporting fuel economies, instead of being at the mercy of oil-rich countries.
Nick Hawkins Oct 15th 2009 11:40PM
The thing that I'm concerned the most about with regards to biofuel is the demand on food crops to make the biofuel. With demand driving the price up, you see the UN's World Food Program feeding less and less as a result. In order to keep the supply up, there will be an environmental impact as land needs to be cleared in order to keep up with food crops to produce biofuel.
Just something to consider.
Jake Oct 16th 2009 2:35PM
Nick,
A valid concern, but there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding the "food vs. fuel" debate. First of all, there is not a shortage of food in this world, there is a food distribution problem. 2/3 of the world has too much to eat, and 1/3 doesn't have enough food. Over a billion people in the world are obese! Though I do not believe that corn ethanol is the best, and most sustainable option, I think of it as a lesser evil than imported petroleum, which is funding both wars the US is fighting, and crippling our economy to the tune of $500 billion plus that we spend on imported petroleum annually. Lastly, here's some food for thought: In the last 3 years, the USA has grown more corn than ever before, had a surplus of corn that won't even fit in the enormous silos for it, and have produced record amounts of ethanol every year, all without expanding the acreage of corn farms. The real cause of the spike in food prices was the rise in cost of petroleum, as that affects every single part of the supply chain from the farmer all the way to the grocery store.
Like I said, it's a pretty complicated situation.
Clive Richardson Jan 5th 2010 7:38AM
http://www.iata.org/nr/rdonlyres/c6e1f4e6-8e1d-4833-9451-a364ed959949/0/iata2009reportonalternativefuelsonlineversion.pdf
This is the IATA briefing document "report on alternative fuels", it is informative and well worth a read over. Bio Jet Fuel is not just going to be a feature of future flight its promotion can add value to multiple alternative energy projects around the globe.