The Virgin Atlantic 747-400 will fly using a biofuel blend composed of babassu oil and coconut oil provided by Seattle-based Imperium Renewables. Babassu oil comes from the nuts of the babassu tree, which is native to Brazil, while most coconut plantations are mature and don't contribute to deforestation, plus coconut farming is said to be carbon-neutral.
Boeing, GE Aviation and Imperium Renewables first conducted lab and engine tests on the performance properties of the biofuel. The Virgin Atlantic flight is expected to be the first in an industry-wide technology initiative to use alternative aviation fuel.
The Boeing test flight follows the world's first flight by a commercial aircraft, an Airbus A380, using a liquid fuel processed from gas (Gas to Liquids - GTL), to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative fuels.
During the three-hour flight from Filton in England to Toulouse in France, engine number one was fed with a blend of GTL and jet fuel while the other three used standard fuel. The A380, said Airbus, was useful because it has four engines with segregated fuel tanks making it possible for one engine to shut down and re-start tests.
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