A closer look at the future of biofuels in aviation.
Aviation produces 12 percent of all transportation-related carbon dioxide, versus about 74 percent for vehicles.Following Charles Lindbergh’s nonstop route from New York to Paris, Honeywell in June flew the first-ever transatlantic flight powered by biofuel, using a 50:50 blend of camelina-based fuel and jet-A in one engine of a Gulfstream G450.The two favored biofuel feedstocks at the moment are camelina, shown growing in test pots in the photo, and jatropha, both of which yield large amounts of needed oils, can grow in marginal soil and are drought-resistant.Jatropha**The biggest barrier to widespread aviation biofuel adoption is a lack of production capacity.
****As biofuel investment grows, in the form of government support and private funding, biomass processing will quickly ramp up, experts say. **A commercial airliner coming out of the factory today is, on average, 82 percent more fuel-efficient per seat mile than one built in the 1960s.Lufthansa has been flying scheduled passenger flights with a 50:50 biofuel blend in this Airbus A321 since the alternative fuel gained approval last July.Global biofuel production has tripled in the last decade, but it still accounts for less than 3 percent of the world’s transportation fuel supply.For more on this topic, check out our feature, “Biofuel Future.“
