Jatropha, Second-Generation Biofuel, Powers Test Flight in New Zealand

On Tuesday, Air New Zealand conducted the successful test-flight of a jet powered by a blend of traditional jet fuel and a biofuel derived from the seeds of the jatropha plant. The event was another step toward widespread use of boifuels in the aviation industry, and a testament to the potential for jatropha (which seeds contain the oil that can be used to make synthetic kerosene/jet fuel) becoming a major source of green energy in coming decades. Air New Zealand filled one of four engines on a Boeing 747 with a 50/50 blend of traditional jet fuel and jatropha-based biofuel and sent the aircraft on a two-hour test flight. The flight tested the biofuel mixture’s performance at high altitudes and ability to re-start a shut down engine. Air New Zealand’s head pilot, Captain David Morgan, was pleased with the results of the flight, according to the San Francisco Chronicle: “It was a very successful test flight, and Jatropha is a reliable second-generation biofuel going forward.”

Although partial-biofuel flights have already been conducted by Virgin Atlantic and the U.S. military (Continental Airlines has scheduled a biofuel flight out of Houston for next week), this was the first use of a non-food crop-based fuel in a jet engine. The jatropha plant is a poisonous shrub indigenous to Central America that produces inedible fruits that contain seeds with an oil content of up to 40 percent (from Wikipedia). It is a resilient bush that grows relatively low to the ground, and is drought and pest resistant. It is often used as a natural fence to protect gardens, as animals do not eat the poisonous plant. For these reasons, much hope has been placed on jatropha as a suitable biofuel source. Perhaps most importantly, because jatropha is inedible, its use as a fuel source would not cut into food crop resources.

Skeptics note that the plant is difficult to cultivate due to its shifting harvest seasons and unreliable yields. Nevertheless, several governments and corporations have invested heavily in jatropha; India has plans to plant 30 million acres (from Rueters.com) of the bush by 2012 and Goldman Sachs called jatropha one of the best candidates for biofuel production in 2007. Although the current economic downturn and sinking oil prices have made biofuels less attractive to the aviation industry, research in and development of new green fuels for commercial and military aircraft continue.

Because the price of oil will inevitably rise again, the prospect of all major airlines using biofuel mixes in the next ten years is very real. In fact, Air New Zealand aims to raise utilization of boifuels to 10 percent of its total consumption by 2013. As for jatropha, its robust growth and status as an inedible fuel make it a strong candidate for one of the most important fuels of the future.