Autopia Planes, Trains, Automobiles and the Future of Transportation Sugar Cane-Fueled Airliner On the Way

Wired.com
By Jason Paur November 19, 2009 5:09 pm

Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer and General Electric are working with renewable fuel company Amyris to develop sugar cane-based jet fuel for airliners. They say a test flight by Brazilian airline Azul Linhas Aereas could come in early 2012.

It’s no surprise such an experiment would come in Brazil, which leads the world in the use of ethanol. The country’s sugar cane crop has led to widespread use of ethanol-powered vehicles, and Embraer produces an ethanol-powered crop duster. Sugar-based ethanol provides a better energy return than the much-debated corn ethanol common in the United States. This is the first effort to produce a sugar cane-based jet fuel for widespread use by the airlines.

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