Friday, June 24, 2011

Cooking oil used for plane fuel

By Orlando Parfitt
Dutch airline KLM have dreamt up an ingenious way to cut their carbon emissions: they will power their flights with biofuel made from recycled cooking oil.
According to a statement, more than 200 flights between Paris and Amsterdam will use the unusual fuel, starting this September.
KLM managing director Camiel Eurlings said their engines won’t even need a refit to use the cooking oil-based substitute, and he expects authorisation for the new fuel to be granted soon.
The fuel, biokerosene, is derived from used frying oil. Tests showed it had the same specifications as kerosene.
Back in 2009 an Air France-KLM Boeing 747, using a 50-50 mix of biofuel and regular jet fuel in one of its four engines, completed a demonstration flight in the Netherlands.
While the number of cooking oil-fueled flights it limited to 200 at present, Eurlings is confident biokerosene is the future of air travel. He said: "The route to 100% sustainable energy is enormously challenging. We need to move forward together to attain continuous access to sustainable fuel."
Earlier this year the European Union told airlines they have to cut their carbon emissions by three per cent on flights on the continent by 2012 to comply with pollution laws.
Air travel is responsible for around three per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes towards global warming.
The likes of Virgin, Air New Zealand and Continental Airlines have all tested biofuel.

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