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Air New Zealand

The first airline that flew with Jatropha biokerosene was Air New Zealand on 30 December 2008 (http://www. airnewzealand. co. nz/biofuel-test). Air New Zealand communicated that more than 1.4 tonnes of jet fuel could be saved on a 12-hour flight powered by the biofuel obtained from the seeds of the African Jatropha plant, keeping about 4.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere.

The airline said that scientists made the estimate after Air New Zealand con­ducted the world’s first commercial aviation test flight using a 50/50 blend of Jatropha fuel and standard jet fuel in a Boeing 747-400 powered by Rolls-Royce engines in December 2008. Speaking on YouTube, Captain David Morgan, Air New Zealand’s chief pilot, said that the highest blend of any type of biofuel was used in that test flight, a joint initiative with Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

Since this test flight the blend has been submitted to rigorous industry eva­luation with a view to being certified for everyday use. When shorter-range flights were included, overall savings were estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60-65% compared to jet fuel derived entirely from petroleum.

Morgan said that Air New Zealand aimed to become the world’s most envir­onmentally sustainable airline and it was proud to have played an important role in furthering the aviation industry’s body of knowledge on sustainable alternative biofuels. "We currently have a team looking at several different biofuel options,” he said. "We remain committed to our ambition of having 10% of our fuel needs by 2013 met by alternative fuels, but appreciate there are many more steps to be taken by experts in other areas to deliver biofuel as a commercial aviation fuel source”.

The airline said the Jatropha oil used for the test flight came from seeds grown on environmentally sustainable farms in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and India.

Second Generation Biofuels and Biomass: Essential Guide for Investors, Scientists and Decision Makers, First Edition. Roland A. Jansen. r 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Published 2013 by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

198 | 19 Airline Jest Results with Biofuels

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