First Carrier In The Americas To Do So
Continental Airlines announced plans Monday for the first
biofuel-powered demonstration flight of a US commercial airliner,
to be conducted in Houston on January 7, 2009.
The demonstration flight, which will be operated with no
passengers, will be powered by a special fuel blend including
components derived from algae and jatropha plants -- sustainable,
second-generation fuel sources that don't impact food crops or
water resources, and don't contribute to deforestation.
Continental has partnered on this project with Boeing; CFM
International, a 50/50 joint company of General Electric Company
and Snecma (SAFRAN Group); refining technology developer UOP, a
Honeywell company; and oil providers Sapphire Energy (algae) and
Terrasol (jatropha).
The demonstration flight will be the first biofuel flight by a
commercial carrier using algae as a fuel source and the first using
a two-engine aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 equipped with CFM
International CFM56-7B engines. The fuel used in one of the two CFM
engines during the demonstration flight will be a blend of 50
percent traditional jet fuel, and 50 percent biofuel from algae and
jatropha.
Operating under a specially-issued "Experimental" aircraft type
certificate, the aircraft will be crewed by Continental test
pilots. With no passengers on board, the flight test plan calls for
operating the No. 2 (right) engine on the special biofuel blend,
including power accelerations / decelerations, in-flight engine
shut-down and restart and other flight maneuvers that include both
normal and non-normal procedures. Numerous flight parameters will
be recorded, and a post-flight engine analysis will contribute to
findings which are expected to show that the biofuel blend is
readily substitutable for regular fuel without any degradation of
performance or safety, and with a net reduction in carbon
emissions.
"This flight represents another step in Continental's commitment
to reducing carbon emissions and identifying sustainable, long-term
fuel solutions for the aviation industry," said Continental
Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner.
Continental, Boeing, UOP and CFM have worked together for more
than nine months on the research, production and testing of the
biofuel, including laboratory and ground-based jet engine
performance testing to ensure compliance with stringent aviation
fuel performance and safety requirements.