The Paris Air Show, scheduled in the coming week is going to witness the first biofuel powered transatlantic flight of the Boeing 747-8 Freighter, from Seattle to Paris. This impressive airplane will reach a milestone crossing the Atlantic powered by bio-fuel. Use of bio aviation fuel has been tried and tested past couple of years, but the bio-fuel powered transatlantic flight by Boeing will be a giant leap for the international aviation industry.
Boeing 747-8 Freighter Airplane Powered by biofuel
On Monday, this 76 meter (250 feet) commercial jumbo jet will take off from Seattle on its maiden flight powered by bio-aviation fuel. The following Friday, Honeywell will launch Gulfstream 450 as its first biofuel aided transatlantic flight. Both these aviation companies are set to create history in making long distance flights aided by biofuel. The four General Electric GEnX engines of the Boeing 747-8 Freighter will run on a blended bio-fuel, constituting 15% Camelina biofuel and 85% normal Jet A kerosene
.The process developed by Honeywell will aid in significant reduction in carbon emissions without any major changes or modifications of the engines and their functioning. About 2% of the green house gas emissions result from the aviation activities. Above all, the Boeing aircraft showed better flight performance with this biofuel in several tests conducted before being ready for the historic take off. Given the grim situation of rising prices of aviation fuel and peak oil crisis, the use of green biofuel shows a promising future in maintaining sustainability of the aviation industry.
Camelina (botanical name camelina sativa) is a very important oil producing plant that is grown extensively with the main objective to use it as a bio-fuel. Also used as cattle feed, camelina has turned out to be a promising source of green fuel and bio-lubricant. The seeds have high oil content within the range of 37-41% and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Several testing with camelina bio-fuel has been carried out successfully by the US navy and US air force before it was recognized as the choicest green aviation fuel.
Boeing is placing high expectations on this bio-fuel run 747-8 Freighter, estimated to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions significantly along with better mileage and reduced sound of the aircraft engines. Boeing is expected to start regular commercial services in the coming months causing drastic reduction in carbon emission. Researchers are targeting the use of 50/50 bio-fuel blend in the navy and aircrafts within the next couple of years.
