Virgin Atlantic Operates Commercial Flight with Biofuel

Boeing, Virgin Atlantic and GE Aviation conducted the first commercial aviation flight using a biomass-to-liquid fuel mixed with traditional kerosene-based jet fuel to demonstrate its technical feasibility.  Questions remain about its economics, however.

Dr. Tim Held, GE Aviation's manager of advanced combustion engineering, said that engine ground testing conducted by GE and CFM International "required no hardware modifications to the engine, and the fuels performed as expected."

While the technical achievement of the flight and how carbon emissions would be reduced, has received the most focus, less attention has been paid to its economic viability.  In other words, can this biofuel, and other alternatives, be cost effective and competitive (when all costs are included), and are they sustainable?

Seattle-based Imperium Renewables provided the biofuel blend used for the Virgin demonstration, which was composed of oil from the nuts of the babassu tree, native to Brazil, and coconuts, both of which are harvested from existing, mature plantations.

According to Renewables, these oils are used in everyday cosmetic products, such as lip balm and shaving cream, and babassu leaves are used to make roofs and paper. Coconut oil is used for a variety of applications including oil for biodiesel used in ground transportation. Most coconut plantations are mature and don't contribute to deforestation, Renewables says.

John Plaza, Imperium Renewables' president and CEO, said the nut-based biofuel used on the Virgin demonstration flight, "offers higher-quality standards and a more sustainable fuel than traditional jet fuel.  Additionally, it illustrates the potential for second-generation biojet fuel to be even more viable in the coming years."

The results of the Virgin biofuel flight will be analyzed and used for research and development of next-generation biofuels that can help to further reduce carbon emissions.  Boeing will use findings from this flight as a baseline for conducting another biofuel flight later this year with Air New Zealand.  03-03-2008.

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