Air New Zealand Flight-Tests New Biofuel
Jan. 6, 2009 - Air New Zealand says it has successfully tested a jatropha biofuel blend during a recent commercial aviation flight in Auckland.
The test flight program is a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and Honeywell’s UOP.
The Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400, had a series of tests completed at various altitudes and under a variety of operating conditions to measure the biofuel’s performance through one of its four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.
"We undertook a range of tests on the ground and in flight with the jatropha biofuel performing well through both the fuel system and engine, just as laboratory tests proved it would," said Captain David Morgan upon landing.
The jatropha plant produces seeds that can produce between 30 and 40% of its mass in oil. The plant can be grown in a range of difficult conditions, including arid and otherwise non-arable areas, leaving prime areas available for food crops.
Air New Zealand and its partners have agreed on three criteria any biofuel must meet for the test flight program: It must be environmentally sustainable, must be technically be at least as good as the product used today, and must be cost competitive with existing fuel supplies.
20% biofuel, the recent Air New Zealand test flight used a 50-50 blend.
The partners say they will continue to test the effect the fuel had on the engine after the flight.
"It is Air New Zealand’s long-term goal to become the world’s most environmentally sustainable airline and we have today made further significant progress towards this," says Robert Fyfe, the airline’s CEO.
To find out more about Air New Zealand’s test flight project, watch this video:
Last year, Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to test a biofuel blend in a commercial plane. While the Virgin Atlantic flight used a blend of 80% jet fuel and
And this one is coming from the University of Florida
Move over corn, a new crop is cornering the alternative fuel market and University of Florida researchers say this plant could be a solution for the high cost of diesel fuel.
For years, jatropha curcas plants grew well in the drought conditions and margin soils of India, Africa, and China. The plant's seeds are high in oil that can be made into bio-diesel fuel. Now UF researchers are planting the trees in southwest Florida where the climate and soil is better, which could lead to a higher number of seeds. And, researcher Roy Beckford says jatropha curcas already outproduces the two leading bio-fuel crops by more than 500%.
Beckford: "Soy and corn produce, in terms of oil yield, less than one hundred gallons per acre per year. Jatropha has the potential to produce at minimum 600 gallons per acre."
Researchers say the plant could produce as much as a thousand gallons of bio-diesel per acre per year, once they figure out the best way to harvest the seeds.
Beckford: "We may have to use some hand harvesting at first, but certainly that's one of the things I'll be doing at the demonstration plots. I'll definitely be looking at various ways to harvest this mechanically."
Researchers will monitor the first test plot of the plants to determine the yield, speed of growth, and best growing methods.
And the latest comes from Brasil where an Airbus A320 made a test flight with a mix of conventional kerosine and jatropha (50-50)
"TAM Airlines, working together with Airbus, has successfully conducted the first Jatropha-based biofuel flight in Latin America.." GizMag November 30, 2010
