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jatropha

Study: 'Jet-fuel' crop success hinges on sites, seeds

Boeing's two-year study of jatropha-curcas agriculture in Brazil has found that location choice and strong seeds are the key to maximizing the crop's benefits, the company said today.

The jatropha-curcas plant has been under close scrutiny in recent years by scientists and companies because its olives yield an oil that can be made into an alternative jet fuel. The weedy plant can grow in adverse soil conditions. And in addition to yielding oil, it provides, like most plants, the secondary benefit of removing carbon from the atmosphere. Many have been trying to compare the carbon footprint of producing … Read more

Air New Zealand tests biofuel Boeing

Air New Zealand, along with Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and Honeywell, retooled one of the four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines on a Boeing 747-400 to run on an unusually fruity blend of half Jet A1 fuel and half jatropha oil, according to Air New Zealand.

Jatropha is a succulent plant commonly grown in the semi-arid areas of India that produces seeds containing an oil that can be harvested and processed into a biofuel.

Jatropha has been used in making biodiesel for cars and trucks, but this is one of the first known attempts to use it as a biofuel in a commercial-size airplane.… Read more