ATW Daily News

Boeing 'very confident' about plant-derived biofuel after recent flights

Monday March 30, 2009

While it still is completing evaluations of three recently conducted biofuel test flights, Boeing already has drawn enough conclusions to state that it is "very confident. . .high quality jet fuel" can be composed of plant-derived oils, a company official told US lawmakers last week.

Testifying at a House of Representatives hearing on the potential of biofuels in civil aviation, Boeing Commercial Airplanes MD-Environmental Strategy Billy Glover said the manufacturer has identified four plant-derived oils that "have a very strong potential" to produce sustainable biofuel: Jatropha, camelina and halophytes "in the near term" and algae "in the longer term." Jatropha and camelina were the primary sources for the biofuel tested on 747s and a 737-800 in December and January (ATWOnline, Feb. 2).

"Biofuels derived from these sustainable energy crop sources show significant improvements in terms of yield and environmental impacts when compared to traditional food crop sources currently being used to make ethanol and biodiesel fuels," Glover said, adding that studies "show greenhouse gas reductions of 60% or more" using jatropha and camelina-derived fuels to power flights compared to traditional jet fuel.

He said initial findings from the test flights reveal that biofuel blends had "better freeze point performance" than traditional jet fuel, meaning that such fuels are able to perform at high altitudes. He added that "in several instances we observed better energy density in the fuel properties of the individual biofuels and in the biofuel blends when compared to traditional jet fuel. Higher energy density is an important benefit. . .[owing to the] lift needed to carry fuel for flight."

Glover told lawmakers that post-flight inspections of aircraft and engines after the biofuel test flights revealed "no abnormal wear or engine deterioration."

by Aaron Karp

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