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Biofuel flights to take off in three years

Biofuel flights to take off in three years Aircraft powered by biofuel could be transporting people around the world within the next three to five years, according to aviation giant Boeing.

Darrin Morgan, Boeing's environmental expert, indicated to The Guardian that the US aircraft manufacturer imminently expects to receive official approval for the use of biofuels.

"The certification will happen much sooner than anybody thought," he explained. "We are thinking that within three to five years we are going to see approval for commercial use of biofuels — and possibly sooner."

Mr Morgan pointed out that existing aircraft would not necessarily need any modifications in order to run on a mix of kerosene and biofuel.

Boeing predicts that planes could be able to function on anything from 30 per cent to 100 per cent use of biofuel.

Trials have already been conducted by both Boeing and European rival Airbus in cooperation with engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to test the performance viability of biofuels.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM have all given their backing to the use of biofuels for commercial flights.

Despite this, Boeing perceives the biggest problem facing the use of biofuels is the task of harvesting sufficient crops to meet the industry's needs.

"No technology change is needed from an engine or airframe point of view," explained Mr Morgan. "It's about availability of the biomass."

This is largely because a land mass the size of Europe would be required to devote to soya-bean harvests just to cater for the 13,000 commercial planes currently in operation.


Travel Industry News posted on 28 October 2008

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