Airlines go for biofuels

Green flights: Airlines go for biofuels

To counter the fluctuating ATF prices, this alternative source can bring a
revolution in aviation

The world's first demo flight with 40 people on board a KLM Boeing 747,
fuelled on 50% camelina, a biofuel, and 50% traditional fuel, circles over
Netherlands for an hour. January 30, 2009: A Boeing 747-300 Japan Airlines
test flight takes off from Tokyo with a biofuel mix of camelina, jatropha
and algae.

These are not flights of fancy. The humble blue-green algae, the innocuous
jatropha plant and the fast-growing camelina could well power a 735,000 lb
plane soon. And airlines, plane manufacturers and engine companies have
joined hands to see that these biomass sources oil the wheels of aviation as
early as 2013 along with fossil fuels.

The International Air Transport Association's goal is to see that
alternative fuels form 10% of aviation fuel consumption by 2017. Boeing
foresees them being used regularly within 3-5 years, while Airbus believes
that by 2030, up to 30% of aviation fuel will be alternative.

Aviation is responsible for 2% of carbon emissions, but unlike other sectors
such as power and ground transport, it doesn't have alternative energy
sources such as wind, hydro and electricity. Besides, almost 40% of an
airline's costs go towards fuel. It therefore makes good business sense to
commercialize sustainable fuel sources, says Dr Dinesh Keskar, president of
Boeing India.

"Sustainable biofuels unlike other energy sources, meet the unique
requirements of aviation jet fuel," he says. These include having the
correct energy density, freezing points and high energy content per unit
weight and volume.

"Any biofuel used," says Paul Nash, head of New Energies at Airbus in
Toulouse, "should be able to work on all aircraft types, new and old and
without the need to modify either the aircraft or the engine and be able to
mix with existing jet fuel." And the aviation industry is only interested in
those sources that don't compete with food or fresh water resources or lead
to land use change, explains Keskar. These are called second generation
biofuels.

The best biofuels, says Charlie Miller, vice-president, International
Corporate Communications at Boeing, are algae, jatropha, halophytes and
camelina. "Algae can produce all the biofuel needed for all planes if grown
in a water mass as large as Belgium. Halophytes can grow in salty
conditions. And what's encouraging is that the biofuels used till now have
performed better than fossil fuels."

Says Alok Adholeya, director of Biotechnology and Management of Bioresources
Division at The Energy and Resources Institute, Delhi, India has good
resources for algae. "We have a large coastline of over 7,000 km where algae
can be grown. This, along with sunlight and flue gas (a pollutant from
industries) can be used to produce this fuel on a continuous basis." Algae
can produce 15-300 times more oil per acre than conventional crops, such as
rapeseed or soybeans.

Would these biofuels actually bring down the cost of air tickets? "If their
production costs can be brought down as the market matures," says Miller,
"we'll get more miles to the gallon and this cost benefit can be passed on
the consumer." Prices will be then be comparable to that of petroleum-based
jet fuel, assures Keskar.

The biggest challenge though, says Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia of Centre for
Asia Pacific Aviation, is to ensure that biofuels can be mass produced at a
low cost/high yield. "Initial studies anticipate an 80% reduction in overall
emissions due to biofuels." Jitender Bhargava, executive director, Air
India, says it's important to know how these fuels will be priced and their
effciency in terms of miles flown per kilolitre.

Meanwhile, extensive tests and flight demonstrations are taking place so
that safety is not compromised.

By Shobha John, Times of India, New Delhi, 26 November 2009