Airlines given approval to use fuel from algae, wood chips
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?After decades of waiting, commercial airlines have been given the go-ahead to use fuel made from algae, wood chips and other plants with obscure names.Bloomberg reported that test flights in recent years by United Continental, Japan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways have shown that planes could fly on everything from coconut oil to jatropha, a plant that grows in the tropics.On 1 July, ASTM International, an American organisation that sets worldwide technical standards for the airline and other industries, approved carriers to mix fuel made from organic waste and nonfood plants with kerosene, which is conventionally used to power planes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports in its July 11 edition.”A lot of companies have been waiting for the certification,” Mark Rumizen, fuel specialist at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was quoted saying.”It’s going to drive a lot of investment.”Airbus and Boeing – who account for about 80 percent of the world’s passenger planes – estimate that by 2030 plant-derived formulas could make up as much as 30% of the market for aviation fuel. Even so, it may take as long as five years before biofuels are cost competitive, according to Billy M. Glover, managing director of environmental strategy at Boeing’s commercial airplanes unit.Pressure is building on the airline industry to cut pollution, with the industry accounting for about 2% of global emissions of carbon dioxide, according to the International Air Transport Association.
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