Eco-Aviation Channel

Air New Zealand proves viability of jatropha biofuel

By Geoffrey Thomas
Eco-Aviation Today, January 12, 2009, p.1

Air New Zealand successfully conducted the world's first sustainable biofuel test flight with a Rolls-Royce-powered 747-400 on Dec. 30, capping a year in which air transport efforts on alternative fuels rapidly accelerated from the test tube to the runway. More than a dozen key performance tests were undertaken during the 2-hr. test flight that took off at 11:30 a.m. local time from Auckland International. A biofuel blend of 50:50 jatropha and Jet A1 was used to power one of the 747-400's RB211s.

At the completion of the flight, pilot-in-command Keith Pattie and ANZ Chief Pilot David Morgan briefed guests and media. "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," Morgan said. He added, "To complete our testing program, our engineers will over the next few days be thoroughly assessing the engine and fuel systems looking for any changes as a result of the use of biofuel. Together with our partners on this project we will then review all the results as part of our drive to have jatropha certified as an aviation fuel."

The test flight was a joint initiative among ANZ, Boeing, Rolls and Honeywell's UOP with support from Terasol Energy. ANZ CEO Rob Fyfe called completion of the flight a significant milestone and something every New Zealander should be proud of. "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," he told media.

Fyfe added: "Air New Zealand is passionate about making a difference to the environment and as a result we have become a world leader in examining every aspect of our flight operations to reduce fuel consumption and our carbon emissions. We stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and it is exciting to be a part of this important moment in aviation history."

Pattie and his crew operated the test flight to the northeast of Auckland over the wider Hauraki Gulf area. Tests were completed at various altitudes and under a variety of operating conditions to measure the biofuel's performance through the No.1 engine and fuel system. Some of the tests included:

The jatropha oil that ANZ sourced and refined for its test flight came from seeds grown on environmentally sustainable farms in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and India.

Air Transport Action Group Executive Director Paul Steele said the flight was a significant step toward the industry vision of carbon-neutral growth. "The efforts taking place in New Zealand and other projects across the aviation sector are designed to make progress towards that goal, providing the aviation industry with a reduced-carbon form of energy and allowing the sustainable future of air transport which is a key generator of economic growth."

Boeing MD-Environment Billy Glover told media he expects that biofuel will be certified within two years and "hopefully a lot less." The difficulty with developing an aviation biofuel is the exacting standards it must meet and the fact that kerosene, with its high energy density, is hard to replace.

Jatropha had proved in tests that it had better properties than conventional jet fuel. RR fuels specialist Chris Lewis told media that testing before the flight showed the jatropha fuel met or exceeded all requirements and was "probably even purer than existing Jet A1, with lower sulphur content and less trace metals."

Jennifer Holmgren, UOP GM-renewable energy and chemicals, said there were many doubters who claimed that biofuel never would meet the low freeze point, high flashpoint or high energy content needed for jet engines. "The reality is now that UOP will license the process for biomass feedstocks by mid-year," she said. She predicted that large-scale commercial production could be possible by 2012 to meet ANZ's aspiration of powering 10% of its domestic fleet by that year.

On the issue of carbon footprint, Holmgren claimed that it is just 25% of conventional fuels by virtue of the fact that the CO2 emitted in use is recycled by the CO2 absorption of the next crop.

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