Kiwis Make Historic Biofuel Flight

By Sebastian Clayton - December 31, 2008 They said it couldn't be done, but Air New Zealand has successfully completed a test flight of a Boeing 747 running partially on biofuel. Better still is the fuel, made from jatropha nuts, is said to be easy to grow and won't compete with farmland or food crops. The jumbo jet left Auckland, New Zealand just before midnight Dec. 30 using a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and jatropha oil in one of its four engines. The test flight lasted two hours, and showed that the jatropha biofuel was suitable for use in airplanes without the need for any modifications of the engines. Engineers previously thought that biofuels were generally unfit for commercial flights, since most biofuels freeze when subjected to cold temperatures at high altitudes. Pilots said they were "thrilled" with the flight and called it a significant milestone for the industry. Air travel contributes about 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, but that number has been rising as more people fly. The flight was completed as U.S.-based Continental Airlines announced its own plans to test second-generation biofuels. Next week it will fly a plane over the Gulf of Mexico with fuel derived from algae. Air New Zealand's biofuel was made from jatropha nuts, which are up to 40 percent oil, and is harvested from trees grown on marginal land in India, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. Some environmentalists have expressed concern that for even jatropha to be produced on comercial scales, much more land will be needed. Time will tell but we're excited about any step forward. More on this news story here