The world"s first ever commercial flight fuelled by a second-generation bio-fuel derived from plants that do not compete with food crops has come as a leap forward in the search for an environmentally friendly fuel for airplanes.
In a recent test flight, an Air New Zealand jumbo jet left Auckland with a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and oil from jatropha trees in one of its four engines. The two-hour test flight by Boeing 747 over the Hauraki Gulf revealed that the jatropha bio-fuel could be used in airplanes without making any modifications in the engines. The entire exercise forms part of the carrier"s plan to source 10% of its fuel from sustainable sources by 2013.
Air New Zealand"s chief pilot David Morgan, who was on the test flight said, "At an emotional level, it was an exciting day today. We achieved everything we wanted to achieve and it as a significant milestone for the aviation industry, doing the very first jatropha-fuelled flight. We"re thrilled."
The search for a greener alternative to kerosene jet fuel has been highly challenging. When first-generation bio-fuels like ethanol would freeze at high altitude, environmentalists also argue that manufacturing bio-fuels can lead to more emissions than they can absorb when growing and can also compete with agricultural crops pushing up the price of food.
On the other hand, Air New Zealand"s bio-fuel was extracted from jatropha nuts, which feature up to 40% oil harvested from trees grown on marginal land in India, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. The fuel was pre-tested demonstrating that it was suitable for airplanes.
