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| Lufthansa's modified A321 looks like a regular jet but runs in part on biofuel |
For half a
year, Lufthansa will be testing a flight between Hamburg and Frankfurt. The
plane will use a blend of biofuel and regular kerosene – but not in both
engines. Green groups are criticizing the fuel source.
With the
world's population growing and becoming increasingly wealthy, reliance on air
travel has become of a fixture of life for many. But as passenger counts grow,
airlines are needing ever-more fuel to keep their fleets in the sky.
Germany's
Lufthansa group alone burns through 11 million liters of fuel each year - the
equivalent of 1,000 full tanker trucks per day.
Given those
fuel amounts, it's no surprise that the air-travel industry suffers from a
negative environmental image. Still, according to the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), the industry is only responsible for 2 percent of
humans' global greenhouse gas emissions.
With oil
prices rising and European emissions trading slated to begin in 2012, airlines
will be faced with new expenses. Not only will they have to pay for the fuel
the industry consumes, they'll also need to acquire certificates for each ton
of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere.
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| IATA estimates 16 billion passengers will fly each year by 2050 |
Fuel costs
account for 30 percent of airlines' expenses - part of the reason why the
industry is searching for an alternative source of fuel.
Biofuel for
jet engines
This month
Lufthansa is starting a half-year of test of biofuel on domestic flights.
While
biofuel has been tested successfully with jet engines before, the technology
will now be put into practice. Individual test flights have taken place since
2008.
The
modified Airbus A321 will fly between Hamburg and Frankfurt four times a day
for half a year.
One of the
plane's two engines will be fueled with kerosene, while the other will be
fueled with a mixture of kerosene and biofuel.
Lufthansa
plans to measure the CO2 emissions generated by the flights and examine the new
fuel's effect on maintenance and engine lifespan.
Manfred
Aigner, director of the Institute for Combustion Technology at the German
Aerospace Center, says he's optimistic about the tests. Members of his
institute will be studying the jet's engines during flight and at night when
the plane is idled.
"Lufthansa
consulted us when choosing a biofuel and mixing it," Aigner told Deutsche
Welle. "In a soundproofed hall we run the engines as if the plane were
flying. Then at regular intervals we measure the ways in which the engines
change during use."
Aigner says
the research has convinced him of one thing: Biofuel is more efficient than
kerosene and emits less greenhouse gas when burned. Depending on how the
biomass used to make the fuel is produced, results could range between 50 and
80 percent less CO2 emissions, Aigner estimates.
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| Scientists will study the Lufthansa plane's engines throughout the test |
Lufthansa
hopes it will save about 1,500 tons of CO2 emissions during the six month test.
Food or
fuel?
Palm oil,
rapeseed and animal fats form the basis of the fuel used in Lufthansa's biofuel
test.
The airline
demanded from its suppliers that its biofuels carry certification that their
production neither damages rainforests nor moors, nor impacts food production.
According
to Aigner, that sustainability requirement made it difficult to secure enough
biofuel in advance of the test.
He added
that biofuel is still difficult to acquire as a commodity. Airlines seeking to
use the fuel are sure to find themselves competing with demand from automobiles
and electricity providers.
"The
question becomes: 'Who gets the biofuel first, and who gets what percentage of
it?'" Aigner said.
While
electricity providers can turn to the wind or the sun to gain energy, and
automobiles can be propelled using hydrogen, airlines have limited other
sources of fuel.
Kerosene
for jet engines can only be replaced by liquefied coal, liquefied gas or
biofuel.
Electricity
isn't an option for air travel, as batteries are too weak and heavy to supply
the energy needed for flight.
However,
power generated by wind turbines could be used to produce methane gas, which
could be liquefied and used for flight. The method would require careful
attention to make sure little efficiency is lost in production, according to
Aigner.
Environmentalists
alarmed
While
biofuels undoubtedly burn more cleanly than fossil fuels, not everyone agrees
they're good for the environment or humans. Environmental organizations say
they're not sold on the sustainability of even certified biofuels.
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| Massive Jatropha cultivation may cause problems for humans and nature |
Reinhard
Behrend, of Rainforest Rescue in Hamburg, says that with a global population of
nearly seven billion humans, spare land for agricultural energy production
simply isn't available.
"Production
of enormous amounts of agricultural energy will be at the expense of humans -
primarily in the tropics - and the natural environment," he told Deutsche
Welle.
And Behrend
is also critical of Lufthansa's plan to increase use of the oil-rich Jatropha
plant for its biofuel.
While the
airline contends that Jatropha can be planted in soil otherwise unfit for
agriculture, Behrend says that's not the point.
"All
investigations - by the German development service GIZ, for instance - have
shown that if soil is poor, the plant doesn't produce enough oil to be
economical," he said.
According
to Greenpeace, Jatropha production would eventually suppress food supplies.
Author: Insa Wrede (gps)
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