Caption: Fuel processing at Honeywell UOP (Credit: Air New Zealand)

The partners agreed that any biofuel program had to meet three criteria:

 

 

The jatropha plant meets all threes criteria. The jatropha plants used in this fuel were grown on land unsuitable for the vast majority of food crops and watered through rainfall rather than mechanical watering and met several other specific requirements set out by the partners. An independent consultant verified that these requirements were met and sent the jatropha oil to Honeywell UOP to refine it into a state comparable to traditional jet fuel for use in the normal Rolls Royce engines. The refined fuel consists of a mix of one part jatropha oil and one part Jet A1 fuel. The refined fuel was tested by scientists at Rolls Royce and by the independent testing firm Intertek before its use in live flights.

Jatropha plant seed pods (Credit: Air New Zealand)

The two hour test flight reached a height of 35,000 feet and included several specific tests of the fuel at different altitudes. The test elements included a full thrust take off, a variety of climb power settings, engine acceleration tests, and in flight and ground shut down and restarting. The engine using the biofuel will be examined in detail and compared to the engines using petroleum-based fuel. The goal of the test was to confirm the new fuel's specific gravity, efficiency, and economic value. Specific numbers and results have not been released at this time.

 

Air New Zealand hopes that 10% of its fuel consumption, or one million barrels per year, will consist of jatropha biofuel by 2013. British airline Virgin Atlantic is also experimenting with biofuels from a different source and other airlines are sure to follow if these tests are successful.

 

TFOT has reported on other alternate fuel sources including single cell organisms that excrete a renewable, carbon-neutral oil-like fuel, a new X Prize for creating green airline fuels, and bacteria that produce hydrogen for fuel cells.

 

More information on the test flight plans can be found on the Air New Zealand website here. In addition, the airline has posted a detailed FAQ about the biofuel and its test plans here. A detailed flight plan including videos of several phases of the flight can be found here.