Eco-Aviation Channel

Continental follows with algae

By Jerome Greer Chandler
Eco-Aviation Today, January 12, 2009, p.2

Continental Airlines followed Air New Zealand's historic trip into the record books a week later by making the first flight on Jan. 7 of a commercial transport partially powered by a fuel derived from algae. The 80-min. test regimen that Richard Jankowski and Joe O'Neil put their 737-800 through went "perfectly," said Jankowski. If parity with Jet A was the goal, the mission may have been a shade better than perfect. He said both fuel consumption and exhaust gas temperatures "were slightly lower" for the No. 2 CFM56-7 that was powered by a blend of Jet A (50%), jatropha (44%), and algae (6%).

How quickly biofuel migrates from the experimental to the operational remains to be seen. But industry experts gathered at Bush Houston Intercontinental for the test flight were almost unabashedly ebullient. CO Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner labeled the flight "a very important step" toward renewable biofuels. Partners Boeing, GE Aviation, CFM International, Terasol Energy, Honeywell UOP and Sapphire Energy were equally upbeat.

UOP's Jennifer Holmgren, back from her jaunt to New Zealand, believes it will be 3-5 years before second-generation biofuels are pumped into airplanes on a commercial basis in regular revenue flight. "I think jatropha is the first" candidate for commercial viability, she said. "And I think it will [yield] hundreds of millions of gallons per year." She said camellina, a rotational nonfoodstuff crop, falls in the same category, one that can be certified and produced relatively readily.

It boils down to this: "I have to have an oil," she said, "something that looks like a vegetable oil, a triglyceride . . . Celluosic biomass [switchgrass] is something that will not be ready in 2012," she contended.

After the ASTM process has a chance to digest the data, "We're looking at certification of a 50% bioblend in 2010 or 2011," said Air Transport Assn. VP-Environmental Affairs Nancy Young.

That ramp-up means "a producer has to make a commitment to build a facility," Holmgren said. "And it's going to cost $120 million to $180 million, depending on their infrastructure." From that investment she predicts will flow 100 million gal. per year.

While jatropha and camellina are the near-term targets of opportunity, it's pond scum that many believe will be the ultimate savior. "Algae, when it goes on line, when it does become cost-competitive, has the ability to [produce] the billions of gallons" per year, Holmgren said. "You tend to get a heck of a lot more productivity per acre. But the reality is . . . that there are lot of technical hurdles that need to be dealt with to make it commercially viable. People don't know how to extract the oil efficiently. They don't know how to grow and harvest continuously."

That's what San Diego-based Sapphire Energy is working on out in the New Mexico desert. "In three years, we'll be producing 300 to 350 barrels a day," asserted Sapphire VP-Corporate Affairs Tim Zenk. He conceded it is "a very small quantity. But it proves the technology." Holmgren said the technical issues are surmountable. "It's not rocket science. Just walk down a good engineering plan and you can get there from here."

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