The world’s first dedicated biofuel flight between the US and Australia is underway. The Qantas Dreamliner passenger aircraft took off from LAX on Sunday and is due to land in Melbourne on 30th January.
The biofuel is carinata oil produced by Agrisoma Biosciences and can be used for “aviation biofuel, bio-jet for aircraft and bio-diesel for airport vehicles”, according to the Qantas press release.
Credit: Qantas
Compared to standard petroleum-based fuel, carinata-based fuel can potentially offer an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions. For this particular flight, using a 10 percent biofuel blend, the reduction is seven percent.
The carinata seeds are sown in fallow field areas or in between regular crop cycles, improving the soil quality for other food crops in the process. Carinata is a renewable source that is water efficient and requires no specialised production techniques. It can also be used for animal nutrition.
The Qantas Dreamliner 787-9 is itself a new aircraft, designed to be more fuel efficient and to generate fewer greenhouse emissions when compared to other similar-sized aircraft.
Qantas introduced its Qantas Future Planet programme in 2007 and has offset more than three million tonnes of carbon emissions since it started.
(Source: Qantas)
On social media? Why not give us a follow...