On December 30, an Air New Zealand Boeing 747 flew for two hours with one of its engines running 50% jet fuel and 50% jatropha oil, the oil that comes from a poisonous shrub. According to the airline’s website the test flight is “a joint initiative with partners Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell’s UOP in commercial aviation’s drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.”
The plant looks promising, in fact it produces seeds that contain inedible lipid oil that is used to produce fuel. Seeds can produce 30-40% of its mass in oil. Jatropha is very easy to grow as well; it can easily be grown in arid climates and other non-arable climates. Terasol Energy was picked to oversee that the fuel met the company’s standards.
The airline’s site reports: “Once received from Terasol Energy, the jatropha oil was refined through a collaborative effort between Air New Zealand, Boeing and leading refining technology developer UOP, utilizing UOP technology to produce jet fuel from renewable sources that can serve as a direct replacement to traditional petroleum-based fuel.”
Interesting stuff. You might recall Virgin Atlantic’s bio-fuel intiative back in February with babassu and coconut oils. It’s great that both airlines are willing to venture into this sort of thing. Others should follow in their footsteps.
Image: stock.xchng
