UPI reports that Indian efforts to produce biofuel from Jatropha aren't working out as well as hoped - Indian biofuel efforts falter.

Jatropha has long been promoted as a promising biofuel substitute to ease the global energy crisis. One hectare is capable of yielding 390-456 gallons of jatropha oil, equivalent to 433.7 gallons of diesel. ...

Jatropha's growing conditions proved to be more complex than originally thought. Jatropha requires close care. Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency analyst Preeti Kaur noted that while initially specialists assumed that jatropha could flourish on wasteland, without irrigation it in fact requires moderate irrigation. As a result, nationwide investments in jatropha of more than $5 billion are at risk.

Kaur added, "The plans have almost failed and our investments are stuck due to the poor quality of jatropha seeds. Other than this, small land holdings are a major reason for the failure of jatropha plantations."

Bloomberg reports that there has been another successful test flight using a mix of jatropha and algae derived biofuels - Algae-Powered Jet Proves Biofuel in Continental Test.

Continental Airlines Inc. conducted a demonstration flight today using biofuel, the first such test in the U.S. with a commercial jet, as the industry experiments with ways to curb pollution that leads to global warming. A fuel blend made from algae and jatropha scrub plants powered the unmodified twin-engine Boeing Co. 737-800, Continental said. The flight, which took off without incident about 12:15 p.m. Houston time at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, lasted about 90 minutes. ...

The test by Houston-based Continental, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, is a step toward the International Air Transport Association’s goal of having member carriers use 10 percent alternative fuels by 2017 to reduce global warming. The European Union will cap airline carbon-dioxide emissions beginning in 2012.

AP reports that Air NZ has successfully trialled flying a 747 using a 50% mix of jatropha oil - NZ airline flies jetliner partly run on veggie oil.

A passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil successfully completed a two-hour flight Tuesday to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said. One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.

This year has seen an unprecedented push for alternative fuels by airlines, which were slammed by skyrocketing oil prices earlier in 2008 and are now bracing for a falloff in air travel in the face of a global economic slowdown.

While Air New Zealand couldn't say whether the blend would be cheaper than standard jet fuel since jatropha is not yet produced on a commercial scale, the company expects the blend to be "cost competitive," according to company spokeswoman Tracy Mills.

Biofuels were once regarded as impractical for aviation because most freeze at the low temperatures encountered at cruising altitudes. But tests show jatropha, whose seeds yield an oil already used to produce fuels like biodiesel, has an even lower freezing point than jet fuel.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Rob Fyfe called the flight "a milestone for the airline and commercial aviation." "Today we stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment in aviation history," he said shortly after the flight. The company's goal is to become the world's most environmentally sustainable airline.

The flight was the first to use jatropha as part of a biofuel mix.

In February, Boeing and Virgin Atlantic carried out a similar test flight that included a biofuel mixture of palm and coconut oil — but was dismissed as a publicity stunt by environmentalists who said the fuel could not be produced in the quantities needed for commercial aviation use.

Biofuels emit as much carbon as kerosene-based jet fuel, but jatropha — a Mexican plant that grows in warm climates — absorbs about half the carbon that jatropha-based fuels release. Air New Zealand's proposed blend, for example, would mean a one-quarter reduction in the carbon footprint of standard jet fuel.

Many biofuels — like ethanol, which is produced from corn — have been blamed for raising the price of food by diverting it from kitchen tables to engines. While the link between biofuels and grain prices is debatable, Mills said that jatropha plants would not compete with food or other commercial crops since it can grow on land that would make poor farmland and needs little water.

"Ethanol is a first generation biofuel; jatropha a second generation biofuel that doesn't compete for land with food production," Mills said.

The test flight out of Auckland International Airport included a full-power takeoff and cruising to 35,000 feet (10,600 meters), where the crew manually set all four engine controls to check for identical performance readings among the biofuel-powered engine and those using jet fuel. Pilots also switched off the fuel pump for the biofuel engine at 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) "to test the lubricity of the fuel," ensuring its friction in the pipe did not slow its flow to the engine.

The Australian reports that Air New Zealand will soon trial a fuel mix using 50% biofuel from jatropha plants - Oil from wasteland tree to power Air NZ jet.

A BIOFUEL due to be used in a world-first Air New Zealand flight test next month may give aircraft an energy boost and reduce their environmental footprint.

Tests by engine-maker Rolls Royce show the 50/50 blend of Jet A1 and fuel converted from jatropha plant oil met or exceeded all critical criteria, including a freeze point of -47C and flash point of 38C. But it also has a higher energy content and lower specific gravity than the Jet A1 fuel available in most countries and the Jet A fuel airlines buy in the US.

Rolls-Royce, which tested the fuel at facilities in Britain, said the blend met or exceeded technical requirements for civil and military aircraft as well as the requirements of a "drop-in" fuel whose properties were virtually indistinguishable from conventional fuel. This means it can be put straight into today's jet engines without the need to make expensive modifications.

Air NZ chief pilot David Morgan said the ability to mix the biofuel with normal fuel was important because airlines may not be able to get the new type in all ports. He expected airlines to be able to use anything from 100 per cent biofuel to various levels of blends.

He also expected to see a reduced fuel burn per nautical mile because of the higher energy content in the new is fuel. He noted that Qantas and Air NZ flights buying the less energy-rich Jet A in the US loaded a 0.2 to 0.3 of a per cent extra because it had less calorific value. This meant, all things being equal, that airlines used more fuel coming out of the US than in travelling there. "So the high calorific value and low specific gravity is a win-win," he said.

Mr Morgan said the aviation industry consortium involved in the test had opted for a blend was because of the biofuel's lower specific gravity. "For the purpose of the test we need to bring it close to normal jet fuel specific gravity because one of the purposes of this test is to prove the efficacy and viability of biofuel in the normal system," he said.

Air NZ will test the blend in various operating conditions in one of the four RB211 on the 747 during a two-hour flight on December 3 and Mr Morgan doe not anticipate any surprises.

The IHT has a report on worries emerging about second generation biofuels - this time because of the potential for the feedstock to become invasive species.

"Some of the most commonly recommended species for biofuels production are also major invasive alien species," their paper says, adding that these crops should be studied more before being cultivated for biofuel production in new areas.

Controlling the spread of such plants could prove difficult, the experts said, producing "greater financial losses than gains." As the International Union put it: "Don't let invasive biofuel crops attack your country."

To reach their conclusions, the scientists matched the list of the most popular second-generation biofuels with a list of invasive species and found an alarming degree of overlapping. They said little evaluation of risk had occurred before planting.

"With biofuels, there's always a hurry,' said Geoffrey Howard, an expert on invasive species with the International Union. "Plantations are started by investors - often from the U.S. or Europe - so they are eager to generate biofuels within a couple of years and also, as you might guess, they don't want a negative assessment."

The biofuels industry says the risk that biofuel crops will become weed problems is overstated, noting that proposed crops, while they have some "weedy" potential, are not inevitably invasive.

Second-generation biofuel plantations growing jatropha, a genus of succulents, have sprung up all over Africa. In the United States and Europe, plans abound to grow crops like switch grass and giant reed for energy and fuels.

Now, biologists and botanists are warning that these second-generation biofuels may have serious unintended consequences as well: Most of these newer crops are what scientists label invasive species - weeds - which they say have high potential to escape plantations, overrun adjacent farms and natural land, and create economic and ecological havoc.

At a United Nations meeting in Bonn on Tuesday, scientists from the Global Invasive Species Program, the Nature Conservancy and the International Union for Conservation of Nature as well as other groups issued a warning worthy of Cassandra.

The Dominion Post has an article looking at New Zealand's efforts to exploit various niches related to air transport - in particular their ongoing experiments with creating biofuels for commercial airliners, with algae and jatropha being the focus - "Mega-rich join queue for Air NZ's skills".

Air New Zealand's has ambitious plans to earn big money from niches like cabin design, pilot training and biofuel. ... Air New Zealand has joined with plane-maker Boeing and engine-maker Rolls-Royce in the race to find a viable biofuel to power aircraft and reduce the dependence on oil, which some tip will rise to a crippling US$150 a barrel.

An Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 will make a test flight early next year with one of its four engines powered by a biofuel mixed with standard jet fuel. No passengers will be carried on the flight. Mr Fyfe says he is confident that Air New Zealand will be using a blended biofuel on commercial flights within his tenure as chief executive.

Research into biofuel is moving into the second generation of development of more efficient fuels. One of the most promising is the oil-rich seed of the jatropha tree that grows in warm and moist climates and has an energy density and characteristics close to those of petroleum. India's commercial crop of jatropha seeds is already big enough to power Air New Zealand's domestic fleet, Mr Fyfe says.

Algae-based fuel, like that being pursued by Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation in Blenheim, also shows promise, but more work needs to be done to make it economic. No one company in New Zealand has the resources to take on all the research and development for a new biofuel, Mr Fyfe says.

As biofuel production using corn and sugar is criticised for putting food stocks at risk, could oil from algae solve the energy crisis?

Has a sewage farm just outside the New Zealand city of Blenheim provided a solution to the world’s energy shortages? Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation, a local start-up, has patented a process to extract biofuel from sewage, and last year Minister for Energy David Parker road-tested a car run on the oil of microscopic algae.

“Wild algae is one of the ubiquitous units of nature,” says Nick Gerritsen, a partner in the firm. “If you leave a bucket of water outside, the water will turn green as it is settled by wild algae. We realised very early that we needed to create a model that took advantage of wild algae feedstocks.”

The challenge was to catch what he calls “the little blighters”, the algae that contain oils or lipids, in the work’s outflow pipe, a cleansing process known as bio-remediation. In May 2006, the company produced what it claimed was “the first biodiesel crude from wild algae”. The process is secret, though oil was extracted from algae that had been separated from water, which Aquaflow wants to leave clean enough to drink.

Aquaflow first had to pass the energy balance test, creating a fuel that produced at least as much energy as went into creating it. The company went from pond scum to biodiesel in just over a year and says its fuel is suitable for domestic use and transport. Furthermore, it claims its technology fits “on the back of a truck,” and is cheap enough to be adopted anywhere. “Our aim is to enable communities to use their wild algae feedstock and become as self-sufficient as they can,” says Mr. Gerritsen.

Faith in algae to provide energy has spread. Last month, Shell announced it had formed a joint venture with HR Biopetroleum that will construct a demonstration plant to harvest algae they claim can double their mass several times a day, providing 15 times more oil per hectare than alternatives such as rape.

“Algae have great potential as a sustainable feedstock for production of diesel-type fuels, with a very small C02 footprint,” says Graeme Sweeney, Shell’s executive vice-president of future fuels and carbon, but admits the commercial potential of the scheme is yet to be proved.

Meanwhile, the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, an alliance of aircraft manufacturers, industry organisations and entrepreneurs, is seeking a biojet fuel that could come from algae.

Last month (DEC), a San Francisco “algae summit” drew more than 300 delegates. One participant was Kelly Ogilvie, co-founder of Seattle firm Blue Marble Energy, which plans to harvest wild algae from sewage farms, lakes and rivers, mining ponds and algae blooms caused by pollution. It says its method is “low cost” and “low tech.” Unlike corn, soya beans, rapeseed and sugar cane — unsustainable monocultures that threaten food production already jeopardised by climate change — algae thrive in shallow, brackish water. Like all plants, they convert sunlight into energy and voraciously consume CO2.

Algae also emit CO2, but this can be offset by injecting nutrient rich CO2 emissions into algae-rich water. No one knows how much CO2 could be absorbed but Mr. Gerritsen believes it could be “quite significant.” Best of all, he says, algae can double their mass in hours.

And they need less space than other biofuels. While corn produces 60 or so gallons of ethanol an acre annually, algae can provide up to 10,000 gallons of biofuel, says Dave Daggett, research chief at Boeing.

However, getting there is a challenge. “There are hurdles throughout the process stream,” says Eric Jarvis, a senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The U.S. company, funded by energy company Chevron, has resumed work on identifying strains of algae likely to produce abundant lipid oils.

Shell is going to grow marine algae to convert into biofuel, the oil company announced yesterday.

The decision to build an experimental plant came as another clean-fuel pioneer, D1 Oils, called on environmentalists to end their "generic" condemnation of biofuels and support those pursuing sustainable products not in competition with food.

Shell has formed a joint venture company with HR Biopetroleum under which they will construct a demonstration facility on the Kona coast of Hawaii Island to harvest algae, which grows very rapidly and, they claim, can provide 15 times more oil a hectare than alternatives such as rape.

"Algae have great potential as a sustainable feedstock for production of diesel-type fuels with a very small C02 footprint," said Graeme Sweeney, Shell's executive vice-president of future fuels and carbon, who admitted the commercial potential of the scheme still had to be proved.

Greenpeace described the move as "potentially interesting" but said it did not make up for the kind of carbon-intensive operations Shell is pursuing in Canadian tar sands.

A number of trials with algae undertaken by other organisations have ended in failure, but Sweeney said the political and commercial environment was changing as governments introduced tougher curbs on C02. He denied the scheme was designed to take public attention away from other carbon-heavy schemes such as the Canadian tar sands that have enraged green groups, saying growing global demand for energy meant all types of fuels would be needed in future.