Biofuel Jets: No Longer A Flight of Fancy

Will aircraft one day run on fuel made from algae or grass? It seems like a flight of fancy, but with Europe planning to cap greenhouse gas emissions from planes, air carriers will have extra motivation.

Last month Boeing, the Natural Resources Defense Council and others in the airline industry announced the creation of a group to study the prospects for biofuel jets, citing the oil-price volatility that has rocked the aviation industry, as well as efforts to cut carbon.

It's a continuation of the airline industry's growing interest in alternative fuels and overall energy efficiency, as Micki Maynard noted in July.

"You can significantly reduce your greenhouse gas profile using renewable synthetic kerosene," said Darrin Morgan, who is in charge of environmental strategy for Boeing commercial planes.
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Comments

[sculptor]

No, it's a Flight of Fiasco instead. The typical biofuel pulls food right out of mouths of the poor so I say shame on anyone associated with this.

[leftleaningcentrist]

Actually this only applies to bio fuels such as ethanol that are made from substances like corn. Algae or Cellulose based bio fuel on the other hand may prove more successful in that it is not consumed for food and can be produced more efficiently.

[sociocanuck]

I wouldn't leap to that conclusion just yet. Maybe he does eat algae, and this would diminish his food supply. If this is the case, he should be praised as one of the few aquatic mammals with the ability to type.

[sculptor]

If I remember correctly the algae to bio-fuel route still involved feeding the algae on sugar in bio-reactors. So, that sugar still involves taking croplands out of food production. In addition, cellulose (an unlikely candidate for producing a jp4 replacement if there ever was one) in any significant quantity will involves taking land out of agricultural production.

By, the way when you say cellulose I assume you are actually referring to bio-fuel produced form the sugars interior to the cellular membranes of grasses and similar plants (aka cellulosic bio-fuel)?

[Dystopic]

the main problem with biofuels and ethanol is ... where does the water come from?

The foods to fuels debate is going to be moot. Corn is probably the least efficient source of biomass, and requires huge amounts of fertilizer & pesticides. Once the transition to switchgrass happens (planted once, comes back every year) the need for fertilization and pesticides will be eliminated.

[sociocanuck]

Biofuel jets could be a huge victory for the environmental protection cause, for sure.

[teronhussein678]

so true

[Dystopic]

why? still produces CO2. You are confusing energy independence (producing our own energy, not importing from unfriendly nations) with environmental benefits. Burning hydrocarbons are burning hydrocarbons.

Get a clue already. Biofuels does not equate to zero carbon emissions.