February 25, 2008  
Jumbo Jet No Longer Biofuel Virgin after Palm Oil Fuels Flight
One short hop for jet travelers, one (giant?) leap for biofuel-based  jets
By David Biello    
 
 
VIRGIN FLIGHT: Virgin  Atlantic flew a 747-400 from London to Amsterdam with 
one engine partially  powered by palm oil.
COURTESY OF  VIRGIN-ATLANTIC
_Virgin Atlantic_ 
(http://science-community.sciam.com/blog-entry/Sciam-Observations/Virgin-Biofuelled-Flight-T-Minus/300006083)  became the first 
commercial airplane  operator to fly a plane powered partially by _palm tree oil_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-altern
ative-fuels&page=3)  this week. In a short but historic  flight, one of the 
company's Boeing 747-400s flew more than 200 miles (320  kilometers) from 
London Heathrow Airport to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam,  reaching a peak altitude 
of 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) during the 40-minute  flight, with one of its 
four engines burning a blend of 20 percent coconut and  babassu oils mixed with 
regular petroleum-based jet fuel. 
"This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about  
reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future," Sir  
Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement. 
Unfortunately, that low-carbon fuel of the future is not likely to be _the 
blend_ (http:
//www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fuels&page=5)  that performed well here. The reason: such  
biofuel may end up causing rather than curing climate change, according to 
_recent studies_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biofuels-bad-for-people-and-climate) . In addition, fuel from the world's  limited supply of coconuts could 
drive up the price of the cooking oil as well  as lead to further clearing of 
endangered rainforests in Southeast Asia for palm  plantation expansion. And 
though the babassu palm grows wild in Brazil--not  unlike _switchgrass_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=grass-makes-better-ethanol-than-corn) , a 
native perennial grass that might be  used for ethanol in North America--there may 
not be enough of it to slake much  of commercial aviation's thirst for fuel. 
Regardless, the nut-generated biodiesel did not gum up the unmodified engine  
(biodiesel can _gel when exposed to the low temperatures_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biodiesel-takes-to-the-sky)  found at high  altitude) or 
impair its smooth functioning. Technicians from Virgin Atlantic,  Boeing, GE 
Aviation (maker of the engine) and fuel provider Imperium Renewables  now plan to 
analyze data collected during the flight to assess the engine's  performance 
and pollution emissions. 
Air New Zealand will test a Boeing 747 (this one powered by Rolls-Royce  
engines) using biofuels in coming months--and more demonstrations may follow.  The 
Virgin Atlantic flight "is just to prove to industry that you can make fuel  
that has these cold-flow properties," (does not congeal at lower 
temperatures),  says David Daggett, Boeing's technology leader for energy and emissions. 
"The  second [test] will be to look more at sustainability issues and  
second-generation feedstocks." 
Virgin's flight follows in the jet wash of the _U.S. Air Force_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fu
els) , Airbus and _BioJet 1_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biodiesel-takes-to-the-sky) . Both the Air Force in December and Airbus  earlier this 
month completed flights powered by synfuel--liquid jet fuel made  from coal or 
natural gas. Last October, BioJet 1--a 1968 Czechoslovakian L-29  fighter 
jet--reached around 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) on 100 percent biodiesel  during a 
test flight in Reno, Nev. Florida-based Green Flight International  plans to fly 
the old jet--chosen because it has fuel-line heaters to keep the  biodiesel 
from gelling--more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from Reno to  Orlando, 
Fla., later this year, pending U.S. Federal Aviation Administration  (FAA) 
approval. 
The FAA has already approved at least one biofuel--_ethanol_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fuels
&page=3) --as an alternative fuel for two types of  aircraft and engines, 
including the Piper Pawnee powered by Lycoming IO-540  engines. At least 1,000 
crop dusters in Brazil have already logged "over 650,000  hours in spray 
operation on 100 percent ethanol," says Max Shauck, director of  the Baylor Institute 
for Air Science. 
But ethanol will not work for the larger jumbo jets in commercial aviation  
because it does not pack enough power per gallon. Sir Branson ultimately hopes  
to use _algae_ 
(http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=flying-environmentally-friendly-skies-on-alternative-fuels&page=4)  to produce the energy-dense oil 
needed to fly  them. The microscopic plant can produce 60 percent of its weight 
as oil and can  be grown in dirty freshwater or even in the oceans, according 
to systems  engineer Ron Pate at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, 
N.M., who has  been analyzing its fuel power potential. 
As Boeing's Daggett says: "There are still a lot of hurdles to overcome, but  
10 to 20 years is a reasonable time frame for production of biofuels from  
algae." 





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