Air New Zealand Flies Jumbo Jet With Jatropha-Based Fuel

In the first flight powered by a second-generation biofuel, Air New Zealand has flown a jet powered by fuel made from the jatropha plant on a two-hour test run. The Boeing 747 flight, the first using fuel derived from plants that do not compete with food crops, used a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and jatropha oil in one of its four engines, demonstrating that jatropha biofuel can be suitable for use in planes without modifying the engines. Unlike other biofuel crops, jatropha requires little water or fertilizer and can be grown even in otherwise infertile soils. The International Air Transport Association, an industry group, is urging its 230 member airlines to use 10 percent alternative fuels by 2017, and other airlines are planning tests of alternatives next month: Continental, which will use a blend of algae and jatropha, and Japan Airlines, which will use a fuel based on camelina oilseed.