Japan Airlines will become the fourth airline in a year to use biofuel during a test flight tomorrow. The hour-long Boeing 747-300 flight will be powered by 50 per cent traditional jet fuel while the other half came from a biofuel blend.
The airline industry is developing second generation fuels from nonedible products, after fuels made from edible plants were criticised. Biofuel used in the latest flight at Tokyo airport was a mixture of camelina (a kind of flax), the flower jatropha and algae. Algae is seen as an especially promising material because ponds with a combined total acreage equal in size to Belgium would be enough to meet all demands from commercial airlines across the globe. Tomorrow’s test followed similar flights by Continental Airlines and Air New Zealand. The world’s first test flight using biofuel was conducted by Britain’s Virgin Atlantic Airways last February.
