As Japan Airlines prepares for tomorrow’s biofuel test flight (more on that in a second), USA Today has a great article about bio- and synthetic-fuels which suggests that we could use left-over chicken fat to power our aircraft in the future. Now, this is the first time I’ve heard of this possibility, but according to the USA Today:

Dynamic Fuels, a partnership between Syntroleum and meat-processing giant Tyson Foods of Arkansas, broke ground in October on a $138 million refining facility in Geismar, La. The plant will turn chicken fat, beef tallow, pork lard and grease into liquid fuel. It is expected to begin production in 2010 and turn out about 75 million gallons of fuel a year, says Ron Stinebaugh, Syntroleum's senior vice president of finance.

It’s an interesting notion… let’s see how far it will fly, but I would probably place my bets on other sources that can be more sustainably grown. Of course, the aviation industry is looking at a variety of sources and we probably won’t end up with a single biofuel solution, so re-using oil products that would otherwise go to waste may be an option! The question being asked on the USA Today panels is whether airports will now start smelling like fried chicken fast food outlets!
 

Back to more regular examples of a potential biofuel – the Japan Airlines test flight set to take off at 1150 in Tokyo tomorrow morning (0250 GMT). This 747-300 will have its number three engine fuelled by a mix of 50% jet fuel and 50% sustainable biofuel. The biofuel is a mix of three different sources: camelina, jatropha and algae. This is the first test flight to use camelina and the first to be a combination of three biofuel sources. The photo above shows technicians filling the #3 engine tank with the biofuel/jet fuel mix today.

Over the next few hours, I will update on the plans for the flight and provide details of the fuel feed stock being used… stay tuned!

Update 1

The flight is around nine hours away now and I thought I would fill you in a bit on the main biofuel crop being used on this flight - camelina. The plant is also known as gold-of-pleasure and German sesame, among other things. It has been grown as a crop by farmers in Europe for at least 3,000 years and one of the oldest places it has been found is just a small distance from where I am in Switzerland. Prior to electricity and gas, the oil from its seeds was harvested to produce oil lamp and it is also used as a cooking oil, although has largely been replaced by other crops.

Its seeds contain a very high oil content and it can be grown in rotation with other food crops such as wheat and cereal, in moderate climates such as the US, Europe and Central Asia. It is estimated that the US state of Montana alone could support between two and three million acres of camelina, generating 200 to 300 million gallons of oil each year.

Although it looks nothing like them, it comes from the same family as cauliflower, radish and cabbage! The fact that it can be grown in the off-season from food supply crops and on the marginal land (as well as being drought-resistant), makes camelina a good source of sustainable aviation biofuel. For this flight, the camelina oil was provided by Sustainable Oils from the USA. It will be mixed with jatropha provided by Terasol Energy and a small amount of algae oil supplied by Sapphire Energy. These have been refined and blended together with Jet-A1 by Honeywell UOP - a company that specialises in refining biofuel. The ability to blend supplies from different sources will enable the aviation industry to have a more secure supply and regional diversity. It is very unlikely that we will only use one type of biofuel in the future.

Update 2

The test flight took off at 1150 JST and will last for an hour and a half, flying north from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to perform the tests over the ocean to the east of Sendai:

Update 3

The flight has now landed and, following a series of tests, the pilots have reported that there was no difference in performance between the engines using normal jet fuel and the #3 engine powered by the biofuel blend. The crew, led by Captain Keiji Kobayashi, performed a series of tests at different altitudes, including shutting the engine down mid-flight and re-starting it, accelerating and decelerating rapidly. From now, more testing and analysis will be carried out to determine how the biofuel impacted on the internal workings of the Pratt & Whitney JT9D engine.

Update 4

Japan Airlines has issued their post-flight media release. For us at the Air Transport Action Group, this flight has shown that working together is key to aviation's green future. Paul Steele, our executive director said:

“In flying a test using three types of biofuel, Japan Airlines will demonstrate how aviation is able to pursue a range of biofuel options, not just rely on one source. This is important as we look to sustainable biofuels as an alternative energy source for aviation. The ability to blend supplies from different sources will enable a more secure supply and regional diversity.”

Over the next few hours, I will post some of the media coverage from the JAL flight here.

Update 5

I would like to share with you a quote from one of the background notes for the Japan Airlines flight on the sustainable nature of the biofuel source camelina:

As a rotation crop with wheat, camelina grows on existing farmland, but does not compete with food crops. Rather, farmers plant camelina on portions of their land that would otherwise be “fallow” (non-planted) as part of their normal crop rotation program. One could argue that the use of camelina as part of a crop rotation is the very definition of sustainability, as it provides growers an opportunity to diversify their crop base and reduce mono-cropping (planting the same crop year after year) which has been shown to degrade soil and reduce yields.

This is a very important point, as we need to be looking at issues such as this to determine the sustainability of any biofuel supply for the industry. While we're at it, here is a picture of the seeds from camelina - amazing to think that they are so rich in oil that it can power a 747 engine!

Update 6

Selected media coverage from the JAL flight:

• Japan Times
• Mainichi Daily News
• Scientific American
• AFP

And a clip of the flight on YouTube (the quality is not great and there is no sound, but I thought I would post it anyway...):

The biofuel test flight on a Continental Airlines 737-800 went better than expected – The pilots reported that the biofuel blend in their number two engine had no discernable performance difference than the normal jet fuel used in their number one engine.

But when they got on the ground, they revealed that they actually used less of the biofuel than of the traditional jet fuel, meaning the biofuel blend had a higher amount of energy-per-litre. This is quite a significant discovery that could indicate that, as well as being less CO2 intensive, we could also start using less fuel per flight when biofuel sources such as algae are introduced – but that is still subject to much testing and analysis. All in all, then this was a very successful test flight.

At the end of the month, we have Japan Airlines flying one of their aircraft on a biofuel blend from a slightly different source – the plant camolina. We will provide updates on that from 30 January. Meanwhile, I leave you with some media coverage of yesterday’s ‘pond scum’-powered flight:

• CNN
• LA Times
• Houston Chronicle
• Scientific American
• Associated Press

The Continental Airlines biofuel flight (designated flight number CO9990) has now landed back at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. As you can see from the flight path it took above, it spent most of the test over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, climbing to 38,000 feet where it performed a series of tests before descending to 25,000 feet and then 19,000 feet and 12,000 feet where it conducted more tests. The aircraft is now going to go through another series of tests on the ground before the analysis can begin into how the fuel performed.

Once the results are in, I will bring you another update.

- Flightpath courtesy of the website Flight Aware

Well, the flight has been in the air for around an hour now and the two pilots and one engineer on board will be undertaking a series of tests to demonstrate how the biofuel performs in the CFM engines. The two-engined aircraft has one engine being flown on regular Jet-A1 fuel and the other engine is using the biofuel mix, which is 50% jet fuel and 50% biofuel from algae and the jatropha plant.

The pilots have climbed to a series of normal flight-level altitudes to monitor how the fuel behaves at the cold temperatures you experience thousands of feet in the air. They will then undertake a number of manoevers that would take place in a normal flight (such as accelerating and decelerating) and also some very unusual ones. For example, they will shut one of the engines down mid-air and re-start it a number of times. This was something that the Air New Zealand test flight last week also did, but they were flying a four-engine 747! These pilots will be flying on just one engine some of the time. But these aircraft are actually able to do that, if absolutely necessary.

For the flight, the aircraft has been re-certified as 'experimental' and the pilots on board are Continental Airline's test crew.

The Air New Zealand biofuel test flight went very well, by all accounts. The Jatropha-derived fuel performed as well as the normal Jet-A1 fuel in the other three engines of the Boeing 747-400. There will now be some further on-the-ground tests to be completed in Auckland before the second-generation biofuel is taken for even more analysis and then the rigorous steps towards certification for use in normal flights. You can’t fault our industry for being cautious with these things!

Bill Glover, one of the industry’s environmental leaders and head of environment strategy at Boeing reminded the audience in Auckland of the global context of this flight, saying that this was one test out of a number that will occur this year around the world. He also mentioned the Declaration signed last April in Geneva at the Aviation & Environment Summit 2008:

We are currently preparing for the 2009 Aviation & Environment Summit, to be held here in Geneva on 31 March and 1 April. I will post more details about it in due course, but the Summit website is up and running so you can visit to see who is on the programme so far at this invitation-only event.

But back to the test flight and Air New Zealand has made some video available on its excellent biofuel test flight website. In their media release, they explained some of the tests that occurred during the flight this morning, during all of which the biofuel performed excellently:

Take off: A full power take off, with throttles advanced as per normal operating conditions, establishing three-quarter power and then to full power.

Climb: The aircraft climbs to 25,000 feet. At an altitude of 20,000 – 25,000 feet, the main fuel pump for engine one (the engine powered by the biofuel) will be switched off. This will test the lubricity of the fuel, ensuring the friction of the fuel does not slow down its flow to the engine.

Cruise: Once cruising at 35,000 feet the auto-throttle will be switched off and the crew will manually set all engine controls, so the Engine Pressure Ratios (EPRs) and other engine performance parameters across all four engines can be checked for identical readings.

Deceleration/acceleration: The crew will control the fuel flow to the engine and measure the rate of change of the engine under these changing operating conditions.

Descent: Engine one will be shut down at 26,000 feet with a windmilling restart at 300knots. An engine shutdown will take place again at 18,000 feet, this time with a starter-assisted relight at 220 knots.

Simulated approach and go around: When the aircraft is at 11,000 feet the autopilot will be programmed to land on a runway “located” at 8,000 feet and undertake a missed approach. This is to test the performance of the fuel under maximum thrust.

Landing: The flight will be completed with a normal landing, including the use of reverse thrust upon touchdown. The aircraft will then taxi back to the hardstand, stop all engines and restart engine #1 by itself.

For full details and more video and images, visit the Air New Zealand website. Also, a few media items of note, from journalists on the ground:

• The Associated Press
• New Zealand Press Association
• Bloomberg
• Television New Zealand (video)
• BusinessDay

The pre-flight briefing has just taken place at Auckland Airport, with Captain Dave Morgan going through some of the key stages of the test flight. One interesting point he made was that the Boeing 747-400 being used for today's test has had to be taken off the New Zealand aircraft registry and re-classified an 'experimental' aircraft. This is because the fuel that is being used is not certified for use in a commerical aircraft yet - all things going well on today's flight and, subject to a lot more testing, it should be certified for use in a few years.

The flight today will last for around two hours, during which the pilots will take the aircraft up to around 35,000 feet - normal cruising altitude - and back down again, pausing along the way to undertake various engine test including stopping the engine completely and then re-starting it a number of times. The Boeing 747-400 was chosen for the flight because each of its four engines has the ability to get fuel from seperate tanks, meaning they can do a test using the Jatropha biofuel mix in just one engine - in this case it is the #1 engine.

The full range of tests that will be carried out on today's flight is outlined on the Air New Zealand website. After taking off from runway 23 at Auckland Airport, the flight will cruise around the Hauraki Gulf area to the east of Auckland City, out of the way of other commerical air traffic. This Google Maps view shows the approximate location of the flight test, with Auckland Airport highlighted by "A" marker:

It is around an hour and a half until the Air New Zealand 747-400 takes off from the main runway at Auckland Airport on a flight powered, in part, by the oil from the plant Jatropha. So what exactly is Jatropha? Well, Jatropha is actually a species of around 175 types of plants, shrubs and trees. The specific plant that Air New Zealand will be using today is the Jatropha Curcas, which grows to around three metres high. Its seeds contain an oil that is able to be refined into a biofuel. The oil yield is around 40% of the mass of the seed and even when the oil has been extracted, the remaining material can also be used as a fuel source when dried.

The thing that makes Jatropha Curcas stick out as a possible aviation biofuel is its ability to be supplied in a sustainable manner.

• The seeds are mildly toxic (in fact, one of the colloquial names for Jatropha Curcus is 'black vomit nut'... charming), and they are not eaten by humans or animals, so are able to become a sustainable supply for biofuels without hitting food supplies - a problem with some edible biofuel sources such as corn and sugarcane.
• The plant can grow in some fairly inhospitable conditions, ensuring that it does not need to compete with food crops for land or water. In fact, this could be a new type of cash crop for developing nations with non-arable land that is currently unused.

Jatropha oil is also a good candidate for use in aviation, as when it has been refined, it has almost exactly the same chemical properties as the Jet-A1 fuel that currently powers the commercial aviation industry. This means that it can be 'dropped-in' to the existing fuel supplies. The industry will then be able to use the existing infrastructure (pipelines, tankers, engines etc) and gradually increase the mix of biofuel as supplies become available.

Just about to tune in to the pre-flight briefing, I will post more about the flight itself once that is over. By the way, the briefing will be given by Air New Zealand's chief pilot Dave Morgan - someone I used to bump into occasionally when I worked at Auckland Airport and who is pictured below holding some of the fuel that will power this morning's flight.

The month from 30 December to 30 January will see the aviation industry conduct three different flight trials where traditional jet fuel will be replaced with biofuels. Biofuels are fuels made from plants or algae and they need plenty of CO2 to grow, thus making it possible for the aviation industry to achieve carbon neutrality in the future. All three flights will mark the first time a particular type of biofuel has been used, sourced from jatropha, algae and camelina.

The first trial will involve an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 that will be using a 50% jatropha mix on one of its Rolls-Royce engines on 30 December. This will be the first flight using jatropha, a bush that grows strongly in arid areas unsuitable for food crops.

The second flight takes place on 7 January when a CFM engine on a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 will be powered by a mix of algae and jatropha. This will be the first flight using algae, which can be grown in salt water, deserts and other inhospitable places. Algae is an excellent carbon sequestrator, soaking up carbon dioxide.  An area of unused land or water the size of Belgium could provide enough fuel to power the entire fleet according to Boeing.

The flight on 30 January will see Japan Airlines use camelina, jatropha and algae on one Pratt & Whitney engine on a Boeing 747-300. This will be the first time that camelina is used on a flight.  Camelina is a high-energy crop that can be grown in dry areas, poor soil and high altitudes.

Carrier	Aircraft	Partners	Date	Biofuel	Blend
	B747-400	Boeing, GE Aviation	23 Feb 08	Coconut & Babassu	20% one engine
	B747-400	Boeing, Rolls-Royce	30 Dec 08	Jatropha	50% one engine
	B737-800	Boeing, GE Aviation, CFM, Honeywell UOP	7 Jan 09	Algae	50% one engine
	B747-300	Boeing, Pratt&Whitney, Honeywell UOP	30 Jan 09	Camelina	50% one engine
	TBA	Airbus, IAE, Honeywell UOP	TBA	TBA	TBA

The theme running through all these trials is that the biofuels are sustainable; they do not compete for land with food crops. All the biofuels are so-called “drop-in” fuels. In other words, they can be mixed with current jet fuel and can be used in current engines.

These trials will demonstrate that sustainable biofuels offer real possibilities for aviation to reduce its carbon footprint. Governments and NGOs should watch these trials closely and if, as expected, the trials are successful they must get behind these initiatives and support aviation’s initiatives to reduce emissions. They must support research and development into biofuels; they must help with speedy certification so that biofuels can be used commercially; and they must help producers to ramp up production, once the trials are complete.

- Image by Flickr user hpk

While the aviation industry concentrates on blended, sustainable, biofuels as the energy source of the future, blog The Airport Channel outlines a research project based on powering aircraft with a nuclear source. It is an... interesting... notion, but I shan't pass judgment just yet. One benefit (apart from zero carbon emissions) would be that fuel loads would no longer be a deciding factor in how long flights could last - meaning you could fly between any two airports non-stop. London to Sydney would be possible - the only fuel you'd need to ensure there was enough of would be food and drink to power the human flyers.

In more serious news, Air New Zealand reports that a biofuel based on the seed oil of the plant jatropha is currently undergoing lab analysis before the airline uses it on a test flight to take place in December. Coming after the Virgin Atlantic flight using oil derived from babassu and coconuts earlier this year, not to mention the planned biofuels flights from Japan Airlines and Continental in 2009, it is exciting to see sustainable biofuels really coming to fruition for aviation.

It is interesting to reflect on the past couple of years in the aviation industry.

When I first became involved in aviation at a global level in 2006, no one really believed biofuels would make much of an impact. In fact, there were those who thought biofuels were an impossible sell to aviation, considering the high-energy performance needed in extreme operating conditions.

It is amazing how things change. The accelerated research since 2006 means we have already seen a test flight from Virgin Atlantic, with Air New Zealand undertaking another before the end of this year and both Continental Airlines and ANA planning test flights for next year. We now have airlines planning to replace significant proportions of their jet fuel with sustainable biofuel drop-ins.

An announcement overnight is another in a series of steps to achieve this goal. Boeing has joined with Honeywell, WWF, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Yale University and group of airlines to form the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group. The airlines involved are: Air France, Air New Zealand, ANA, Cargolux, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, SAS and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Together, these airlines account for around 15% of world commercial jet fuel use, so their combined buying power has the potential to significantly accelerate the study and development of biofuels.

The project will initially provide in-depth studies into two potential fuel sources: jatropha and algae. The studies will provide the industry with greater understanding of the potential fuel yield, lifecycle carbon output and resources required to produce the fuel.

There has been a bit of media attention about algae as a potential source of aviation fuel - it is very fast growing and could provide the same performance characteristics as the JetA1 fuel currently used.

Jatropha is less well known. This shrub-type plant (shown on the left) is able to grow in very inhospitable conditions, is fast-growing and isn't really a food source for anything - the seeds are toxic. However, when pressed, these seeds produce an oil that can be turned into biodiesel and a sustainable drop-in jet fuel.

The exciting thing about these options is they aren't food sources, nor do they compete for land or water with food crops - vital differences with some first-generation biofuel sources.

UOP, which is a Honeywell company, is also working with Airbus, International Aero Engines and JetBlue Airways on a similar project, developing and testing fuels from biomass.

These projects signify two things: that the industry works together to achieve the goals it needs to; and that air transport is truly committed to the future of flight being sustainable.

With algae, jatropha, switchgrass and other potential sources of fuel, the question is: what exactly will we be filling our aircraft with in 10 years?

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