It is now official. Earth-friendly biofuel derived form plants might have the potential to replace petroleum as a source of fuel for airplanes, in the near future. So far, the United Flight 1403 made its first trip powered by a mixture which included petroleum and algae-derived biofuel. The usage of eco-fuel is predicted to provide green solutions on a large commercial scale in the next few years, as its benefits and costs make it highly competitive with the traditional resources.
At the same time, on November 9th,
75 flights directed by Alaska Airlines managed to bring people to their destination using synthetic fuels obtained after processing used cooking oil, combined with actual kerosene.
This strategy follows the path of greenhouse gas reduction, which has become a priority for the most important airline companies, after EU has revealed its controversial plan of imposing new regulations, meant to keep the CO2 emissions under stricter control.
The fact that biofuel will be used and recognized on a commercial scale rewards the hard work of experts from the U.S. Air Force and Navy, Honeywell UOP, which have struggled to prove and implement the benefits of eco-fuel manufactured from plants such as camelina, jatropha or recycled cooking oil, which, in combination with regular fuel, have a significantly lower impact upon the air quality.
Th only bump in the road appears to be the fact that bio-jet fuels are up to six times more expensive than the traditional alternatives, but also represent a strong ally in making companies more eco-conscious while fighting the effects of climate change.
The European companies launched the green trend in the industry earlier this year, in July, when they have first implemented the special blend of fuels to their commercial flights.
Alternative fuels have a lot of potential and, once experts will determine an efficient method of lowering the costs, they might be able to completely liberate the atmosphere from their harmful carbon footprint.
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