NZ airliner flies partly run on vegetable oil

[CougarKing]

Yet another biofuel alternative?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28433079/

N.Z. airline flies jet partly run on veggie oil
One engine was powered by 50-50 blend of jatropha plant oil, jet fuel
The Associated Press
updated 5:24 a.m. PT, Tues., Dec. 30, 2008
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil successfully completed a two-hour flight Tuesday to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said.

One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.

This year has seen an unprecedented push for alternative fuels by airlines, which were slammed by skyrocketing oil prices earlier in 2008 and are now bracing for a falloff in air travel in the face of a global economic slowdown.

While Air New Zealand couldn’t say whether the blend would be cheaper than standard jet fuel since jatropha is not yet produced on a commercial scale, the company expects the blend to be “cost competitive,” according to company spokeswoman Tracy Mills.

Biofuels were once regarded as impractical for aviation because most freeze at the low temperatures encountered at cruising altitudes. But tests show jatropha, whose seeds yield an oil already used to produce fuels like biodiesel, has an even lower freezing point than jet fuel.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Rob Fyfe called the flight “a milestone for the airline and commercial aviation.”

“Today we stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment in aviation history,” he said shortly after the flight. The company’s goal is to become the world’s most environmentally sustainable airline.

The flight was the first to use jatropha as part of a biofuel mix.

In February, Boeing and Virgin Atlantic carried out a similar test flight that included a biofuel mixture of palm and coconut oil — but was dismissed as a publicity stunt by environmentalists who said the fuel could not be produced in the quantities needed for commercial aviation use.

Biofuels emit as much carbon as kerosene-based jet fuel, but jatropha — a Mexican plant that grows in warm climates — absorbs about half the carbon that jatropha-based fuels release. Air New Zealand’s proposed blend, for example, would mean a one-quarter reduction in the carbon footprint of standard jet fuel.

Many biofuels — like ethanol, which is produced from corn — have been blamed for raising the price of food by diverting it from kitchen tables to engines. While the link between biofuels and grain prices is debatable, Mills said that jatropha plants would not compete with food or other commercial crops since it can grow on land that would make poor farmland and needs little water.

“Ethanol is a first generation biofuel; jatropha a second generation biofuel that doesn’t compete for land with food production,” Mills said.

The test flight out of Auckland International Airport included a full-power takeoff and cruising to 35,000 feet (10,600 meters), where the crew manually set all four engine controls to check for identical performance readings among the biofuel-powered engine and those using jet fuel. Pilots also switched off the fuel pump for the biofuel engine at 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) “to test the lubricity of the fuel,” ensuring its friction in the pipe did not slow its flow to the engine.

Capt. David Morgan, the airline’s chief pilot who was on board the airplane, said results from the flight tests will provide the company and its partners with invaluable data to help jatropha become a certified aviation fuel.

The checks were “designed to test the biofuel to the fullest extent,” Morgan said.

While the airline heralded the flight as successful, Air New Zealand Group Manager Ed Sims cautioned that it will be at least 2013 before the company can ensure easy access to the large quantities of jatropha it would need to use the biofuel on all of its flights.

“Clearly we are a long, long way from being able to source commercially quantifiable amounts of the fuel and then be able to move that amount of fuel around the world to be able to power the world’s airlines is still some years off,” Sims told New Zealand’s National Radio.

The company bought the seeds from plantations in East Africa and India that total 309,000 acres (125,000 hectares).

The company hopes that by 2013, 10 percent of its flights will be powered, at least in part, by biofuels, Mills said. Most of those using the blend would be short haul domestic services.

Simon Boxer, of environmental group Greenpeace New Zealand, said it was inevitable that airlines would show greater interest in sustainable biofuels as travelers become more aware of the harm that air travel causes the environment.

But he said it wasn’t clear whether jatropha was really sustainable. He questioned what the environmental impact would be if jatropha grew popular and more land and resources were needed to produce it on a commercial scale.

The flight was a joint venture by Air New Zealand, airplane maker Boeing, engine maker Rolls Royce and biofuel specialist, UOP Llc, a unit of Honeywell International.

The flight, initially scheduled for earlier this month, was postponed after an Air New Zealand A320 Airbus crashed off Perpignan on the south coast of France on Nov. 27, killing all seven on board.


© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[geo]

The only problem I have with "bio-diesel" is the land on which they grow this sustainable resource.

Do they replace wheat or other essential "foodstuffs" by these oil producing plant seeds ?

Dispense with the use of overgrown SUVs in favour of smaller fuel efficient cars
Find plants that can grow on land that is NOT being used to grow food

 

[tabernac]

The only problem I have with "bio-diesel" is the land on which they grow this sustainable resource.

Do they replace wheat or other essential "foodstuffs" by these oil producing plant seeds ?

Dispense with the use of overgrown SUVs in favour of smaller fuel efficient cars
Find plants that can grow on land that is NOT being used to grow food

I think this is your answer here.

“Ethanol is a first generation biofuel; jatropha a second generation biofuel that doesn’t compete for land with food production,” Mills said.

It was jatropha that was used in the test.

 

[geo]

I know, I know...  I just have a bee in my bonnet WRT a lot of the other biodiesels that have been put on the market... at the expense of foodstuffs.

 

[tabernac]

I know, I know...  I just have a bee in my bonnet WRT a lot of the other biodiesels that have been put on the market... at the expense of foodstuffs.

I understand where you're coming from, being a prairie kid. The only people who truly benefit are the farmers who are selling the bio-fuel crops for a pretty penny.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Not from the best of sources but......

Oil and biodiesel
Main article: Jatropha oil

Currently the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is used for making biodiesel fuel in Philippines, promoted by a law authored by Philippine senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Miguel Zubiri. Likewise, jatropha oil is being promoted as an easily grown biofuel crop in hundreds of projects throughout India and other developing countries. The railway line between Mumbai and Delhi is planted with Jatropha and the train itself runs on 15-20% biodiesel. In Africa, cultivation of Jatropha is being promoted and it is grown successfully in countries such as Mali. In the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, where also a native variety (Jatropha matacensis) grows, studies have shown suitability of Jatropha cultivation and agro producers are starting to consider planting in the region.

Estimates of Jatropha seed yield vary widely, due to a lack of research data, the genetic diversity of the crop, the range of environments in which it is grown, and Jatropha's perennial life cycle. Seed yields under cultivation can range from 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms per hectare, corresponding to extractable oil yields of 540 to 680 litres per hectare (58 to 73 US gallons per acre).

Jatropha can also be intercropped with other cash crops such as coffee, sugar, fruits and vegetables.

On Dec. 30, 2008 Air New Zealand successfully completed a test flight from Auckland using a 50/50 mixture of jatropha oil and Jet A1 in one of the four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines of a 747 jumbo jet. The two-hour test flight could mark another promising step for the airline industry to find cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel. Air New Zealand announced plans to use the new fuel for 10% of its needs by 2013. Jatropha oil is significantly cheaper than crude oil, costing an estimated $43 a barrel or about one-third of the 4 June 2008 closing price of $122.30 for a barrel of crude oil. However, the falling cost of oil has changed the dynamic, with crude oil selling for $43.71 a barrel, as of 09 December 2008

 

[geo]

Jatropha curcus is a drought-resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil. It is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years.

Jatropha the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide.

It is found to be growing in many parts of the country, rugged in nature and can survive with minimum inputs and easy to propagate.

Cheez, this sounds too good to be true

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Like I said geo, not the best of sources.