February 25, 2008
Jumbo Jet No Longer Biofuel Virgin after Palm Oil Fuels Flight
One short hop for jet travelers, one (giant?) leap for biofuel-based jets
By David Biello
VIRGIN FLIGHT: Virgin Atlantic flew a 747-400 from London to Amsterdam with
one engine partially powered by palm oil.
COURTESY OF VIRGIN-ATLANTIC
_Virgin Atlantic_
(http://science-community.sciam.com/blog-entry/Sciam-Observations/Virgin-Biofuelled-Flight-T-Minus/300006083) became the first
commercial airplane operator to fly a plane powered partially by _palm tree oil_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-altern
ative-fuels&page=3) this week. In a short but historic flight, one of the
company's Boeing 747-400s flew more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from
London Heathrow Airport to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, reaching a peak altitude
of 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) during the 40-minute flight, with one of its
four engines burning a blend of 20 percent coconut and babassu oils mixed with
regular petroleum-based jet fuel.
"This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about
reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future," Sir
Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement.
Unfortunately, that low-carbon fuel of the future is not likely to be _the
blend_ (http:
//www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fuels&page=5) that performed well here. The reason: such
biofuel may end up causing rather than curing climate change, according to
_recent studies_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biofuels-bad-for-people-and-climate) . In addition, fuel from the world's limited supply of coconuts could
drive up the price of the cooking oil as well as lead to further clearing of
endangered rainforests in Southeast Asia for palm plantation expansion. And
though the babassu palm grows wild in Brazil--not unlike _switchgrass_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=grass-makes-better-ethanol-than-corn) , a
native perennial grass that might be used for ethanol in North America--there may
not be enough of it to slake much of commercial aviation's thirst for fuel.
Regardless, the nut-generated biodiesel did not gum up the unmodified engine
(biodiesel can _gel when exposed to the low temperatures_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biodiesel-takes-to-the-sky) found at high altitude) or
impair its smooth functioning. Technicians from Virgin Atlantic, Boeing, GE
Aviation (maker of the engine) and fuel provider Imperium Renewables now plan to
analyze data collected during the flight to assess the engine's performance
and pollution emissions.
Air New Zealand will test a Boeing 747 (this one powered by Rolls-Royce
engines) using biofuels in coming months--and more demonstrations may follow. The
Virgin Atlantic flight "is just to prove to industry that you can make fuel
that has these cold-flow properties," (does not congeal at lower
temperatures), says David Daggett, Boeing's technology leader for energy and emissions.
"The second [test] will be to look more at sustainability issues and
second-generation feedstocks."
Virgin's flight follows in the jet wash of the _U.S. Air Force_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fu
els) , Airbus and _BioJet 1_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biodiesel-takes-to-the-sky) . Both the Air Force in December and Airbus earlier this
month completed flights powered by synfuel--liquid jet fuel made from coal or
natural gas. Last October, BioJet 1--a 1968 Czechoslovakian L-29 fighter
jet--reached around 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) on 100 percent biodiesel during a
test flight in Reno, Nev. Florida-based Green Flight International plans to fly
the old jet--chosen because it has fuel-line heaters to keep the biodiesel
from gelling--more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from Reno to Orlando,
Fla., later this year, pending U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
approval.
The FAA has already approved at least one biofuel--_ethanol_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fuels
&page=3) --as an alternative fuel for two types of aircraft and engines,
including the Piper Pawnee powered by Lycoming IO-540 engines. At least 1,000
crop dusters in Brazil have already logged "over 650,000 hours in spray
operation on 100 percent ethanol," says Max Shauck, director of the Baylor Institute
for Air Science.
But ethanol will not work for the larger jumbo jets in commercial aviation
because it does not pack enough power per gallon. Sir Branson ultimately hopes
to use _algae_
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fuels&page=4) to produce the energy-dense oil
needed to fly them. The microscopic plant can produce 60 percent of its weight
as oil and can be grown in dirty freshwater or even in the oceans, according
to systems engineer Ron Pate at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque,
N.M., who has been analyzing its fuel power potential.
As Boeing's Daggett says: "There are still a lot of hurdles to overcome, but
10 to 20 years is a reasonable time frame for production of biofuels from
algae."
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