Will biofuels replace standard jet fuel one day?
An important milestone in aviation biofuels: Honeywell has scheduled for today the world’s first trans-Atlantic non-stop jet flight powered by biofuel. Flying between Morristown, New Jersey and Paris will be a Gulfstream corporate jet carrying company executives and powered by a 50-50 blend of aviation biofuel and petroleum.
Last year a single engine propeller plane powered by biofuels made the trans-Atlantic journey, going from Toronto to Germany, making stops in Greenland, Iceland and Scotland.
SmartPlanet reports that the Honeywell jet will land in Paris on Saturday morning and then make further flights during the Paris Air Show from June 20-26.
Aviation Biofuels Work Better Than Petroleum, But Can We Grow Enough Of Them?
Though important in a sequential perspective for the commercial deployment of aviation biofuels, for at least the past two years the technological potential of aviation biofuels has been well established, with plant-based fuels proving more efficient than petroleum-based ones in jet engines. The far bigger issue with transitioning commercial aviation to renewable energy sources is producing enough biofuel to supply current demand, let alone future projected growth, without using too great a percentage of farm land.
