Biofuels & novel fuels News
Below are links to stories about aviation biofuels.
Thomson Airways plans its biofuel flight on 6th October, using a mix of oils as sufficient used cooking oil was not available
Thomson will be flying its delayed first biofuel flight on 6th Oct from Birmingham to Arrecife. It was delayed from 28th July when supplies of used cooking oil could not be obtained in time. Thomson has put out a position paper on biofuels. Like other airlines, is getting a test flight with biofuels, hoping to persuade its customers and government that it is being "green" and environmentally responsible. Thomson hopes to have a daily flight using biofuel.
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Chinese airline aims for biofuel flight this year using jatropha
Air China plans to make a maiden test flight across the Pacific some time later this year, using biofuel from jatropha. In July the China National Petroleum Corp announced that it had delivered 15 tons of jatropha oil to Air China. Air China is expected to use a Boeing 747 powered by Pratt & Whitney engines on the test flight, and Boeing has agreed to partner with the Beijing-based carrier to provide technical support.
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Biofuels May Push 120 Million Into Hunger, Qatar’s Shah Says
Biofuel policies in countries from Australia to the US may push 120 million people into hunger by 2050 while doing little to halt climate change, said an advisor to Qatar’s food security program. So-called 1st-generation biofuels from commodity crops compete with food for land use and fertilizers, resulting in higher grain prices and increased deforestation. “The first generation, we should never have done it,” but those who invested to them are committed.
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Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division Flies Harrier on 50% Biofuel Blend
The NAWCWD performed the first bio-fuel flight test in an AV-8B Harrier on 21st September, over NAWCWD's land ranges in the upper Mojave Desert. The Harrier was put through a range of testing manoeuvres, and performed without problems. There were no anomalies detected that would prevent the Navy from using the biofuels blend for the AV-8B. The US military are at the forefront of work on aviation biofuels, so they are not dependent on conventional oil imports.
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Aviation industry going to biofuels made from alcohols, some from food crops
Jet fuel can be made by combining two alcohol molecules. The aviation biofuel industry can see there will be a time delay in getting fuel from jatropha, camelia etc but it could produce fuel from alcohol faster. Some from corn or sugar cane, as well as non-food crops and woody biomass. Aviation accounts for 12% of the fuel used by the entire transport sector. Global aviation fuel demand may reach 7.6 million barrels/day in 2012, up from 6.8 m barrels in 2007.
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US and Australia sign key aviation biofuels accord
The US FAA and Australia’s Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism have reached a Memorandum of Understanding to continue research and development of biofuels. The MOU calls for both countries to exchange information about policies, programs, projects, etc and to conduct joint studies in areas such as fuel sources and environmental impacts. One of the areas of concern and focus is feedstock readiness – if producers can ramp up on scale fast enough.
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European Commission – Clean Transport Systems initiative – consultation ends 6th October
The EC has a current consultation on future fuels in Europe, including biofuels in a big way, and including aviation. It presumes biofuels are a "good thing" and just asks how much, and with what priority, and on what time scale etc. It asks for views on fuel mix, including various forms of alternative fuels, in 2020, 2030 and 2050, and its stated aim is to modernise and decarbonise the transport sector. A good chance to send in concerns about the rush to biofuels.
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European Commission Caves in to Industry Over Biofuel Rules – Global Forest Coalition Demands Precautionary Approach
In a long-awaited announcement last week, the EC decided to entirely ignore the indirect climate impacts of agrofuels for up to 7 more years. Instead of using the precautionary principle, the agofuel industry has been given the benefit of the doubt. The EU Renewable Energy Directive exempt all agrofuels produced in installations including palm oil and sugar cane mills operating by the end of 2012 from any ‘penalties’ over their indirect impacts until the end of 2017.
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‘Serious’ Error Found in Carbon Savings for Biofuels
The EU is overestimating the reductions in CO2 emissions from use of biofuels as a result of a “serious accounting error,” according to a draft opinion by an influential committee of 19 scientists and academics. They write that any CO2 reduction should be measured by how much additional CO2 such crops absorb beyond what would have been absorbed anyway by existing fields, forests and grasslands. Instead, the EU has been “double counting” some of the savings.
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