This blog is produced by the Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research CABER) at the University of Illinois. CABER is under the direction of Hans P. Blaschek, professor and Assistant Dean of the U of I College of Agricultural,Consumer and Environmental Sciences Office of Research. This blog is a roundup of research news and related topics dealing with biofuels. It does not cover biofuel production and prices at this time.
Biofuels Digest
November 05, 2009 Jim Lane
In the Netherlands, KLM announced that it would become the first airline to test biofuels on a passenger flight. The company said that it would utilize a 50/50 mixture of camelina and standard jet fuel in a one-hour Boeing 747 flight on November 23 that would include, for the first time, a limited number of passengers.
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Biofuels Digest
June 18, 2009 Jim Lane
A CFM 56-7 jet engine, similar to the engine used in the Continental biofuels test flight
At the Paris Air Show Boeing and a series of partners involved in four biofuels-based test flights released the data from the tests, and said that with the release they are on a path towards flight certification of biofuels as soon as late 2010.
Billy Glover, managing director of Environmental Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said that the group, which includes UOP Honeywell and the US Air Force Research Lab, is preparing a submission to ASTM that will qualify what the group is now calling Bio-SPK fuel.
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Posted by Natalie at 5:31 AM 0 comments
BusinessTimes.com
Published: 2009/06/10
THE development of biofuels in the airline industry is not only set to be a reality but also crucial to the survival of the airline industry, say airline executives.
"The key thing that has changed now is that in the last six to nine months we have seen a lot of interest from new players, such as Honeywell and other emerging companies, to develop the fuel," International Air Transport Association (IATA) director of aviation environment Paul Steele told reporters at a briefing yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.
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Posted by Natalie at 5:19 AM 0 comments
Biofuels Digest
January 30, 2009 Jim Lane
In Japan, Japan Airlines became the fourth airline to successfully flight test biofuels in the past year, and the first to successfully demonstrate camelina as a biofuel feedstock.
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USA Today
January 27, 2009
By Dan Reed, USA TODAY
Chickens can't fly very far. But chickens — or the fatty parts left after processing —could be powering jet flights across the country and around the world in the next few years.
Or maybe it'll be algae, essentially pond scum, fueling them. Or jatropha, a smelly and poisonous subtropical plant with nicknames such as "black vomit nut" or "bellyache bush." Or liquid fuel converted from coal or natural gas, using a technology pioneered by Adolph Hitler's Nazi war machine.
Airlines, airplane and engine makers, the fledgling synthetic and biofuels industry, the U.S. government, environmentalists and even the big oil companies are working together to develop alternative fuels from these and other sources. Their goal: to replace a significant portion of the 19 billion gallons of kerosene that U.S. carriers burn in their planes each year and to do it by the end of the next decade. If they succeed, airlines will reduce their carbon footprint — and save big money that could possibly help hold down fares.
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Posted by Natalie at 6:22 AM 0 comments
Labels: airplane, algae, Jatropha, renewable energy
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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Associated Press
By JOHN PORRETTO – January 8, 2009
HOUSTON (AP) — Continental Airlines on Wednesday became the first U.S. commercial carrier to conduct a demonstration flight powered in part by alternative fuels, though large-scale use of such fuel is forecast to be several years away.
The Houston-based company, the nation's fourth-largest airline, made the flight with a Boeing 737-800 that left from Bush Intercontinental Airport, its large hub. The flight took about 1 hour, 45 minutes and had no passengers.
Continental chairman and chief executive Larry Kellner said the goal was to analyze technical aspects of using biofuels, including effects on the plane's mechanical systems. In this case, the alternative fuel was derived from algae and jatropha plants and used in only one of the plane's two engines.
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cleantech.com
December 22, 2008
Science Applications International and General Atomics secure contracts through 2010 to help commercialize biofuel for military jets and vehicles.
A sector of the U.S. Department of Defense has signed nearly $35 million in contracts with two San Diego companies to develop biofuel derived from algae for use in Air Force jets and Army vehicles.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) signed a $14.9 million deal with Science Applications International to work on making the algae-based jet fuel commercially and technically feasible.
DARPA also signed a $19.9 million deal with General Atomics to research algae-based fuel.
The two agreements are expected to last through 2010.
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Posted by Natalie at 11:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: airplane, algae, biofuel, Department of Defense
GrainNet.com
Date Posted: December 9, 2008
Houston—Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) announced Dec. 8 plans for the first biofuel-powered demonstration flight of a U.S. commercial airliner, to be conducted in Houston on Jan. 7, 2009.
The demonstration flight, which will be operated with no passengers, will be powered by a special fuel blend including components derived from algae and jatropha plants -- sustainable, second-generation fuel sources that don't impact food crops or water resources, and don't contribute to deforestation.
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guardian.co.uk
Dan Milmo, transport correspondent
The Guardian,
Monday October 27 2008
Biofuel-powered aircraft could be carrying millions of passengers around the world within three years, according to Boeing.
Darrin Morgan, an environmental expert at the US jet manufacturer, said the group was expecting official approval of biofuel use in the near future.
"The certification will happen much sooner than anybody thought," he said. "We are thinking that within three to five years we are going to see approval for commercial use of biofuels - and possibly sooner."
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Posted by Natalie at 6:42 AM 0 comments
Friday, Apr 11, 2008 - 04:02 AM
By NBC News Channel WCBD, Charleston, SC
Aviation enthusiasts are constantly looking for the latest and greatest in aircraft technology.
And one plane is hoping to soar to the top of the class with environmentally friendly advances.
When aerobatic pilot Greg Poe thinks about going green he thinks about his red MX2 aircraft.
It’s a high performance airplane fueled by ethanol.
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Posted by Natalie at 9:02 AM 0 comments