Airlines consider mixing biofuel, jet fuel

Airlines are preparing for that moment by experimenting with a mixture of 10 percent biofuel and 90 percent jet fuel to run their jetliners. Biofuel is a renewable energy source, typically a nonedible crop such as algae, that can be blended with jet fuel for an energy source to improve air quality.

Biofuel could become the Hamburger Helper of the energy business, extending oil reserves just as pasta mixed with ground beef can make a hearty meal.
“One of the few bright points out of the current energy crisis is that it has given alternative energy a kick in the pants,” said Steven Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, an airline trade group. The IATA wants alternative fuels to comprise 10 percent of all fuel used by the industry by 2017.

The fuels are still in the experimental stage, and their fuel economy is not known. But they would have to cost no more than jet fuel today. Jet fuel prices in the New York harbor area are up more than a dollar a gallon from a year ago.

Lott said the aerospace industry also must find a fuel that does not freeze at high altitudes and can be used in aircraft that might be in an airline’s fleet for up to 30 years.

Sun Journal