Nov 30 2010
Airbus and TAM Airlines have completed their first ever flight utilizing biofuel produced from Jatropha. The exercise conducted in Latin America utilized an Airbus A320 plane powered by CFM56 engines and used 50% mix of locally procured Jatropha-based bio-kerosene along with regular aviation kerosene. The biofuel was processed by UOP, a Honeywell group company.
The TAM Airlines and Airbus flight carried 20 people from both the companies and took off from the Galeão Antonio Carlos Jobim International airport located in Rio de Janeiro and flew for around 45 minutes and then returned to the base. The experimental flight had received approval from Airbus and CFM International and was cleared by aviation authorities in Brazil and Europe.
TAM Airlines and Airbus support the use of bio-kerosene in airlines and undertook the experimental flight to prove the cause. Various studies show that using Jatropha biofuel mix with aviation fuel reduces carbon emissions by nearly 80% when compared to regular fossil fuel.
Airbus, to show its support for eco-friendly fuel, had earlier used the Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) in 2008 in one of its commercial airplanes. In October 2009, along with Qatar Airways, it attempted the first ever commercial flight with 50% GTL blended fuel.
Tom Enders, President and CEO of Airbus, called the attempt as a vital step to prove that using biofuel in airlines is practical and does not cause any negative impact on the environment. He added that the flight underlines the industry’s goal to reduce 50% of carbon discharge by 2050.