Continental follows with algae

Air Transport World
By Jerome Greer Chandler Eco-Aviation Today, January 12, 2009, p.2

Continental Airlines followed Air New Zealand's historic trip into the record books a week later by making the first flight on Jan. 7 of a commercial transport partially powered by a fuel derived from algae. The 80-min. test regimen that Richard Jankowski and Joe O'Neil put their 737-800 through went "perfectly," said Jankowski. If parity with Jet A was the goal, the mission may have been a shade better than perfect. He said both fuel consumption and exhaust gas temperatures "were slightly lower" for the No. 2 CFM56-7 that was powered by a blend of Jet A (50%), jatropha (44%), and algae (6%).

How quickly biofuel migrates from the experimental to the operational remains to be seen. But industry experts gathered at Bush Houston Intercontinental for the test flight were almost unabashedly ebullient. CO Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner labeled the flight "a very important step" toward renewable biofuels. Partners Boeing, GE Aviation, CFM International, Terasol Energy, Honeywell UOP and Sapphire Energy were equally upbeat.

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