Fly the ‘Green’ Skies With Camelina (and Pond Scum)

Travel Blog  •  Joanna Kakissis  •  02.04.09 | 10:41 AM ET

airplane propellerPhoto by jiazi, via Flickr (Creative Commons)..

OK, OK ... it will be many, many years before camelina and algae replace petroleum in jet fuel, but I’m glad the aviation industry is at least exploring environmentally responsible options. Last week, Japan Airlines became the latest carrier to test biofuels on one of its jets, circling a Boeing 747 powered by mix of camelina, jatropha and algae oil over the Pacific Ocean.

By all accounts, the one-hour flight went smoothly, as did previous biofuel test flights by Virgin Atlantic (powered in part by coconut and babassu oil), Air New Zealand (jatropha oil) and Continental (jatropha and algae oil). Greenvolutionaries have been hating for years on traditional (read: fossil-fuel-based) jet fuel, a major contributor of greenhouse gases. So energy companies such as Arizona’s PetroSun and Montana’s Sustainable Oils are loving the good vibes and (so far) good results in developing clean, next-gen jet fuels.

The Finns have predicted that all planes will be running on biofuel by 2093. I know, that’s like 84 years away, but since oil reserves are only expected to last a few more decades, I really hope they’re right.


Joanna Kakissis's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. A contributor to the World Hum blog, she's currently a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.


1 Comment for Fly the ‘Green’ Skies With Camelina (and Pond Scum)

Haldane Dodd 02.04.09 | 2:03 PM ET

We in the aviation industry are very encouraged by the test flights that have taken place. Within as little as five years, we could be seeing viable quantities of sustainable aviation biofuels being used on commerical flights, replacing traditional Jet A1 with the carbon-free alternative.

More information on the biofuel flights and other technology, operational and infrastructure steps the aviation industry is taking to become greener can be found on the website http://www.enviro.aero, where we have a specific page on sustainable aviation biofuels.

Haldane Dodd
Air Transport Action Group, Geneva

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.