News
Aviation Industry Looking Towards Alternative Fuels
The New York Times (1/7, B3, Wald) reports, "Burned by the cost of jet fuel, the aviation industry is trying everything from algae to camelina and jatropha as alternatives, but specialists say that some of the new fuels, which include coal, might simply trade one set of problems for another." Experts say "if the new fuel caused an engine to fail, that would be a bigger challenge in a plane with two engines than in one with four." But "although jet fuel prices have dropped with crude oil, industry executives say they are determined to become less dependent on a single source of fuel in case prices rise again." The International Air Transport Association has "a goal of 10 percent alternative fuels by 2017. The Federal Aviation Administration is also encouraging the new fuels." The fuel has "some advantages over traditional jet fuel, including extremely low sulfur levels, but when production is considered, jet fuel from coal produces substantially more carbon dioxide than jet fuel from oil."
