Boeing announced a daring plan of action in regard to its fuel supply

Oct 28, 2008 08:28 GMT  ·  By

The European Union has already pledged its commitment to introducing biofuels as an alternative to regular, petroleum-based kerosene, in 5 to 10 years. But, while some oppose this measure, others have already taken the first steps towards this goal. Boeing is expecting to get approval for using biofuels in 3 to 5 years maximum.

 

The company says that, most likely, it will use a mix of fuels that will contain 30 percent renewable biofuel, simply because sufficient surfaces to produce the enormous amount of fuel the 13,000 commercial planes throughout the world would need are not yet available. Company officials say that sufficient soya beans could only be harvested from a territory the size of Europe, which is currently impossible.

 

The lack of agricultural fields is also a big problem in the path towards generating sufficient amounts of soya biofuel. But researchers think they've now found a solution it. By growing algae in bioreactors, they hope to attain enough biofuel to power up a considerable part of the international commercial fleet. Coupled with soya fuel, algae biofuel could just supply the combustive force necessary to power up large petroleum "black holes," such as airplanes.

 

Some of the large flight companies are skeptical to the use of biofuel in conjunction with regular kerosene, but Boeing officials say that no modifications need to be done to their planes when companies decide to start using biofuel as a supplement. This is a bold step forward for the company, which, once again, proves it's a ground breaker in the field of aeronautics.

 

The next few years are critical for the development of sustainable biofuel resources. Finding new ways of harvesting organic matter from algae and soya could finally provide sufficient fuel quantities for the aeronautic industry to reconsider its position. By that time, companies such as Boeing would have already taken the first steps towards becoming more eco-friendly.