JAPAN FLIES BIOFUELS

Greener travel? Japan tests pond scum as jet biofuel
Todd Crowell, February 1, 2009 (Christian Science Monitor)

“The Boeing 747 belonging to Japan Airlines took off from Tokyo’s busy Haneda Airport Friday and circled over the Pacific Ocean…It was the last of four demonstration flights that have taken place over the past year…

“Aviation currently contributes about 3 percent of global carbon emissions, but air travel is growing…jet aircraft do not just give off carbon dioxide but nitrous oxide – which some scientists calculate will have at least double the impact of CO2 – and condensation trails, which also may contribute to global warming."

Camelina - the plant that would be jet fuel (click to enlarge)

“…Capt. Keiji Kobayashi said that the performance of the biofueled engine seemed indistinguishable from the other three engines. That echoed reports from the three previous flights …

“The JAL test used a blend of 84 percent camelina oil [a vegetable oil considered a second-generation biofuel as it has little food value], 16 percent jatropha oil [which produces half the emissions of oil], and less than 1 percent algae oil [the greenest of the biofuels but the furthest from mass production]. The three biofuels were mixed 50-50 with kerosene in one of the aircraft’s four engines. It was the first demonstration flight using camelina oil and the first one to use a blend of three different biofuels…"

click to enlarge

“The aviation industry consumes about 240 million gallons of jet fuel a day…Virgin Atlantic in February became the first airline to demonstrate that a commercial aircraft could fly using a biofuel, flying from London to Amsterdam on a partial mix of coconut and babassu oils. Air New Zealand followed up in December using jatropha plant oil, and Continental in Houston flew a two-engine B737 on a mix of jatropha and algae oil…

“All the demonstration flights were conducted with jets made by Boeing which has been coordinating all of the tests…”