Thick waves of green growth are washing onto the shores of China’s yellow sea. A massive bloom, caused by an abundance of nitrogen and other nutrients, has turned beaches into massive patches of seaweed shag carped. The algae poses a hazard to marine life in the sea, but it’s non-poisonus to humans. Which is good, because beachgoers have taken a liking to the green stuff. As workers slowly cart away more than 40,000 tons of seaweed, tourists have been turning themselves into swamp things and otherwise frolicking in the green sea. Way to make the most of a potentially icky situation, China.
Continental Airlines experiments with algae jet fuel mix
On Wednesday, Continental Airlines flew a Boeing 737 from Houston in a circle over the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing too special about that. Except that this flight was a test of a new 50/50 jet fuel/biofuel mixture, powering one of the engines.
The bio portion of the fuel was a mix of algae and jatropha oil, an alternative fuel that can be grown in poor soil, yet is able to produce more yields than soybean. The fuel was approved for aviation use last year, and meets or exceeds all requirements for a jet fuel.
The jet was not the first biofuel powered airplane. Early last year, Virgin Atlantic flew a 747 from London to Amsterdam powered partially by coconut oil.
Most experts agree that the aviation industry will have to invest heavily in finding alternative fuels, but given how much is at stake during these trials it is understandable that they take things kind of slow.
This trial was a huge success, and the test pilot called it “textbook”. Whether or not we’ll start flying in coconut and algae powered jets any time soon, will all depend on how quickly these new crops can be grown on a massive scale. The amount of biofuel required to become a really viable alternative is quite staggering.
(Via: BBC News)