Biofuel - Fuel for Airplanes?

On the verge of several new inventions Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 was tested to fly on Biofuel. It was the first commercial jet ever to fly on Biofuel, a fuel produced from plant matter instead of petroleum or other fossil fuels.

This plane was tested with five people on board on one of London Heathrow's two main runways. There were around 100 people watching to evidence this event standing on a nearby hangar. Virgin founder, Richard Branson told reporters just before its take off that, "This is the first stage on a journey towards renewable fuel," His voice was not clear because of deafening noise of overhead planes.

For experiment purpose, Virgin's eco-plane ran only one engine with that fuel and the other three engines were filled with standard jet fuel. In addition the Biofuel-powered engine was using a blend of conventional jet fuel and Biofuel: 80/20 in favor of the regular stuff. In sum just 5% of the 49,000-lb (22,000 kg) fuel load consisted of the novelty: a special mix of coconut oil and oil from the Brazilian babassu plant, prepared by Seattle-based Imperium Renewable over the last 18 months and tested by General Electric Aviation in Ohio.

Commenting against the people who were stating this incidence as mere publicity stunt, people said that it was just a businesses claim, meant merely as a demonstration. Branson told reporters, "What we're proving today is that Biofuel can be used for a plane," He further added, "Two years ago, people said it was absolutely impossible."

It was also feared that Biofuel would freeze before a plane reached cruising altitude, or that it would require massive and costly changes to the aircraft or fueling systems to work at all. Those all believes were proved wrong with this successful experiment. The fuel used by Virgin did not require any equipment modifications and it flew to 25,000 feet (7,600 m) without incident; and the environmental benefits seem clear, at least once the fuel is loaded onto the plane.

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