Biofuels & novel fuels News
Below are links to stories about aviation biofuels.
Runway cleared for aviation biofuels surge in 2012
Date added: 10 June, 2011
ASTM has given preliminary approval to the blending of biofuels produced from algal, jatropha,
municipal waste and other cellulosic feedstocks in aviation fuels. Final approval
is expected around July 1st, of the new BIO SPK fuel standard, which will limit
such fuels to 50% by weight. Following final approval of the standard, Lufthansa and Airbus are expected to
begin a 6-month commercial trial of a 50% biofuel blend, on 4 flights/ day between
Frankfurt and London.
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US military using 119 million barrels oil per year, now want 50% biofuel by 2020
Date added: 3 June, 2011
The US military apparently uses close to 2% of US energy and in 2008, the US Department of Defense used about
119 million barrels of oil. The DoD now wants to get 50% of supplies from renewable
sources by 2020 - probably more for energy security reasons than climate. “We
want to be able to pull into different ports around the globe and be able to refuel
on biofuels.” In other words, the Navy does not want to protect a long supply
line as it has to with oil.
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UK scientists launch scathing criticism of EU biofuel targets (road traffic)
Date added: 2 June, 2011
Claims that biofuels have lower greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels are
'complete nonsense' and EU-wide targets to increase their use should be scrapped
says a letter from 19 prominent UK scientists to Philip Hammond. A global 'land grab' and increased loss of forests and other natural ecosystems
is being driven by European targets for more biofuels - with a target for 10%
of total transport fuel to be derived from renewable sources by 2020.
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World Economic Forum report identifies biofuels as the ‘game changer’ to achieve aviation emission targets
Date added: 25 May, 2011
An aviation sustainability report from the World Economic Forum finds that achieving
the industry’s target of halving its carbon emissions by 2050 will be a significant
challenge given an 85% CO2 reduction gap. One of the four means by which they
see aviation CO2 falling is by biofuels. They envisage no less than 13.6 million
gallons of sustainable biofuel to be needed each day for aviation by 2050, which
is 4.9 billion barrels per year (more than 6 times current global biofuel production).
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MIT analysis emphasises the large variability in greenhouse gas emissions from jet biofuel production
Date added: 24 May, 2011
When a biofuel’s origins are factored in, eg. if it is made from palm oil grown
in a clear-cut rainfores, biofuels can be worse than fossil fuels. You can’t simply
say a biofuel is good or bad – it depends on how it’s produced and processed,
and that’s part of the debate that hasn’t been had. MIT researchers did life-cycle analyses of 14 fuel sources, and found emissions varied widely depending
on the land use change needed to grow biofuel. Some biofuels are even worse than
coal-to-liquid fuels.
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$70 billion investment required to meet aviation biofuel ambitions, although industry denies setting target
Date added: 13 May, 2011
Up to $70 billion would be needed for the industry to use 6% biofuel by 2020.
If it was from jatropha it would be for 2,000 farms of 10,000 hectares each, or
for camelina, for 8,500 farms - as well as 67 bio-refining plants. There is
not enough money coming from the major biofuel players, so they want some government
assistance. Even meeting the 6% target will be hard, let alone a vague aspiration
by Europe of 40% by 2050. There is no agreed target.
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Iberia and AENA invest in algae biofuel project in Madrid
Date added: 4 May, 2011
Iberia has teamed up with Spanish airports operator AENA and AlgaEnergy to establish
a microalgae-based biofuel research project at Madrid Airport. The facility, in which an initial €600,000 has been invested, will be located
near the airport's Terminal 4 and will start next month. The research plant will capture CO2 from Iberia's aircraft engine bench test
facility, which would otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere, to make
biofuel.
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Aviation industry says: “Campaigners should support aviation industry biofuel trials”
Date added: 20 April, 2011
A very biased article, written by the Air Transport Group, and published in the
Ecologist, supports the use of increasing amounts of biofuels by the aviation
industry. And suggests that we all back the industry in its bold work to do the
right thing on biofuels. AirportWatch then sets out reasons why this is misguided,
very partial, and only tells a bit of the truth. In reality the aviation industry
plans to continue growing and producing more emissions.
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Germany joins up with Lufthansa to sponsor biofuel 6 times worse than fossil fuels
Date added: 20 April, 2011
The German government is financing Lufthansa’s biofuel trials. A total €2.5 million of government money is being ploughed into the 6 month €6.6
million biofuel trial. A recent report by ActionAid and RSPB found that the development of jatropha
plantations would produce 2.5 - 6 times more greenhouse gas emissions than fossil
fuels. The German government is wasting taxpayers' money on a technology that
has few environmental benefits, and does much harm.
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Biofuels transport targets are unethical, inquiry finds
Date added: 14 April, 2011
A new study by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics says the production of biofuels
to meet UK and European directives violates human rights, damages the environment,
and has led to problems of deforestation and the displacement of indigenous people.
Biofuels also contribute to poor harvests, commodity speculation and high oil
prices which raise the cost of fertilisers and transport. Targets had driven rapid
expansion in parts of the world with lower ethical standards,
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