Boeing 737-800 Flies Using Algae-Fuel

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:53:59 +0000

A Continental Boeing 737-800 test flight using partial algae fuel has gone successfully well. One of the engines in the plane used 50% aircraft fuel and 50% biofuel. The test flight lasted 90 minutes. The test flight took place this past Wednesday. This is the first in a series of tests that will be taking place within the aviation industry. Biofuels may become somewhat of a standard within five years. The test flight started from Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TX and did a circuit over the Gulf of Mexico. The test took place from 38,000 ft. and included a mid-flight engine shutdown.

“The airplane performed perfectly,” stated test pilot Rich Jankowski. “There were no problems. It was textbook.” The alternative fuel was created using algae and jatropha. This past February, a Virgin 747 was able to fly from London to Amsterdam using fuel made of Brazilian nuts and coconuts.

The United States uses 20.8 million and the world as a whole uses 80.29 million barrels of oil per day based on 2005 estimates. India and China combined use about 9 million barrels and their combined population is eight times as much as the United States. The United States definetely needs to find oil alternatives so this is a good start. Our dependence on oil is costing lives of people overseas. We need oil alternatives for the sake of humanity.

[via Slashdot]

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Boeing 737-800 Flies Using Algae-Fuel