Airline in first biofuel flight

[Sweetpea]

The first flight by a commercial airline to be powered partly by biofuel is to take off from Heathrow airport.

Billed as a green fuel breakthrough, the Virgin Atlantic flight to Amsterdam will not have any passengers on board.
Earlier this month, Airbus used the world's largest passenger jet, the A380 to flight test another alternative fuel - a synthetic mix of gas-to-liquid. Many environmentalists argue that cultivating biofuel is not sustainable and will lead to reduced land for food.

BBC NEWS | UK | Airline in first biofuel flight


Brilliant.

We grow a lot of bio-fuel here in the Fens. Miscanthus is planted in various places, around the edge of crops providing shelter and on small plots not big enough for food crops. Sometimes a whole field is devoted to it.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/pdfs/ec...thus-guide.pdf

[Hekna]

Is this the same one Richard Branson was involved in? I read about them using a mix of coconut and another oil to fuel the aircrafts. However, I think the bigger problem is that they would need vast amounts of land to grow the crops. This is all moving in the right direction but I can't help but think it's not moving quite fast enough!

British Sugar in Bury St Edmunds had an entire plant set up to produce massive quantities of the stuff, made from sugar beet grown in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. They shut it down in 2001 because the government wanted to tax it to death, so British Sugar couldn't pass any real economic benefits on to the consumer. In Brazil, all taxis run on the stuff apparently. It's cheaper than petrol, gives more mpg and doen't produce hydrocarbons, not only that but modern cars require no modification to run it. We got the ability to do it but I think that the Oil lobby is too powerful for it to be alowed to flourish. More Eco-Bollocks from the government.

[Sweetpea]

I know the sight well.

When the oil runs out, and it will, will they be able to grow sugar beet in Saudi? Just a thought. kat2

[poppy]

Unfortunately the stuff this plane flew on was made from nuts from, rain forest, would mean hacking down masses of rain forest trees in order to lay roads to get the stuff out. Not green at all, just another photo opportunity for Richard Branson. Thought it sounded good when I first heard it so went investigating, still I suppose they may get there in the end.

[Sweetpea]

That's crap. I obviously didn't read enough.

Just when you think someone is making an effort.

[poppy]

Originally Posted by Lee_GB

Just when you think someone is making an effort.

I think that was the whole and only reason for the flight, to make us all think someone is making an effort.
But the science continues, maybe a sustainable none destructive way can be found

[terrywit]

[quote=poppy;1961maybe a sustainable none destructive way can be found[/QUOTE]

Boring.............

how's about making aviation fuel from fluffy white kittens?

that would be renewable?

[poppy]

Originally Posted by terrywit

Boring.............

how's about making aviation fuel from fluffy white kittens?

that would be renewable?

the claws and teeth block the fuel pipes