Air New Zealand tests biofuel Boeing

The inedible nuts of the jatropha plant consist of 30 percent to 40 percent oil that can be converted into biofuel.

(Credit: Air New Zealand)

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.

Air New Zealand is not, however, the first commercial airline to try flying on a mixture containing biofuels. Several airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, have been testing out the sustainable idea of bio jet fuel mixed with jet fuel.

The jatropha bio jet fuel was supplied by Terasol Energy, which certified that the fuel supply met sustainability criteria.

The fuel stock in no way affected the environment or displaced other crops, David Morgan, chief pilot at Air New Zealand, explained in a video press release (below).

The two-hour test flight took off and landed from an Auckland, New Zealand, airport on Tuesday.

The test run was part of a program to research better sustainable air travel.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) lists jatropha as a promising next-generation bio-jet fuel for the airline industry because the hardy plant can be grown in poor quality soil needing little water.

[Gary Treible]

I know these kinds of "tests" make for interesting news, but in 2009 do we really need to physically fly an airplane to test a new fuel? I would think that through simulation and ground tests, everything about this fuel could be known. Sounds like PR to me.

[t8]

OK. So you would fly in a plane with bio-fuels that wasn't tested in a real plane. Yeah right,

[manticore--2008]

The actual physical testing in flight, in an operational system can never be replaced or substituted for by computer simulation for the simple reason that the computer modeling involved cannot anticipate nor duplicate/replicate every variable. There will ALWAYS be an unanticipated variable, however minor that variable is : the entire history of technology points up this basic fact endlessly.
To suggest the physical testing of any new element within a coherent system can be abnegated is mere childishness, which, in 2009 should rightly be so viewed.

[doeksen]

The part of this story that is significant is not that its being tested in a real plane ... questioning that part is just silly, of course you test things as close to reality eventually, after simulations and lab and testbench testing are done ... the important bit here is the jatropha plant as a source of the plant oils used in biofuel production. Jatropha is potentially a fuel-oil plant that won't displace corn or wheat, that can be grown in marginal areas. That type of biofuel has more of a sustainable future than any alcohol fermentation from crops.

Other plants should be considered, of course: algae may be a good source of oil as well, but they probably will require industrial production rather than farms. Research needs to be done on many fronts, and figuring out a good way to raise and harvest jatropha is one of them.

[old3eyes]

Sounds like a Air NZ PR con job.

Have a look at this site for some info.

http://www.aardvark.co.nz/daily/2009/0105.shtml#continue