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posted by
CoolHand
on Tuesday November 15 2016, @08:27PM
from the if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest-can-i-join-the-mile-high-club dept.
from the if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest-can-i-join-the-mile-high-club dept.
Washington state-based Alaska Airlines today made history flying the first commercial flight using the world's first renewable, alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals, the limbs and branches that remain after the harvesting of managed forests.
The fuel used a 20 percent blend of sustainable aviation biofuel.
While 20% doesn't seem like much (it's still 80% aviation fuel), if the airline were able to replace 20 percent of its entire fuel supply at Sea-Tac Airport (from which it took off), it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 142,000 metric tons of CO2. This is equivalent to taking approximately 30,000 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
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Alaska Airlines Makes History With Bio-Fuel Flight
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"My life is a soap opera, but who gets the movie rights?"
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Tuesday November 15 2016, @10:17PM
The military has different motivations for biofuels, namely energy independence and infrastructure independence.
Energy independence currently could be argued for the USA in wartime - oil output is at record highs and with wartime rationing (think world war) the domestic output may be able to sustain the military.
Infrastructure independence is a larger concern in this modern era, as it can apply to small operations, depending on scale. Being able to refine fuels without costly infrastructure like an oil refinery provides resiliency to destruction of said refinery. I remember reading about research into hydrogen or ammonia as a fuel that can be produced in the field with air, water, and energy. Supply chains become less critical and operations can occur in remote locations more easily.