JET ALGAE BIOFUEL

The Next Biofuel Frontier: Jet Engines; In the race to power planes with plants, airlines have begun test-flying a gamut of options, including the oil from algae, jatropha and camelina. From a technical perspective, it may not matter which biofuel wins, so long as there are ample contenders.
Davin Coburn, January 13, 2009 (Popular Mechanics)

“…Continental became the first U.S. airline to test synthetic paraffinic kerosenes—otherwise known as jet biofuels. Engineers filled one of the Boeing 737-800's twin engines (which required no modifications) with a 50/50 blend of oils from jatropha and algae and regular Jet A1 fuel. During the 90-minute flight, pilots turned the engine off and on and abruptly accelerated and slowed down the aircraft. The biofuel performed flawlessly—and even appeared to get better fuel economy than the engine running off traditional Jet A1…

”…Only 2.5 percent of Continental's fuel blend came from algae…But because algae can yield 10 times more bioenergy molecules per area than any terrestrial plant—and it doesn't compete with cropland—the Scripps Institution of Oceanography recently dubbed it alternative energy's "green bullet" …

”The International Air Transport Association wants its 230 member carriers to be using 10 percent alternative fuels by 2017; the European Union will cap airline carbon-dioxide emissions in 2012. These looming deadlines have helped prompt increased testing…With the latest milestone, Boeing estimates a regularly scheduled passenger flight could be powered by a biofuel blend in three years…

“The aviation industry currently burns through nearly a quarter-billion gallons of jet fuel daily, so one key to cost effectiveness will be diversification. Experts expect algae could become a viable source in the next eight to 10 years—and in the meantime, other feedstocks will get their turn in sun. Japan Airlines, which plans to conduct the next biofuel test flight at the end of this month, will run an airliner with a blend of camelina oil and conventional fuel. Oil from jatropha and camelina plants could be viable in commercial quantities in the next three to five years…”