The first commercial airliner to fly using biofuel took off only yesterday in what is being hailed as a breakthrough in the search for alternatives to oil. The Virgin Atlantic Jumbo jet flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam with one of its engines partly powered by a mixture of coconut oil and oil from babassu trees found in Brazilian rain forests. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said the flight proved the possibility of an alternative to fossil fuel and could lead to a cut in CO2 emissions. Virgin has always tried to do something out-of-the-box to make sure it hits the headlines.
Environmentalists dismissed the launch as a gimmick which would do little to halt climate change. They say biofuels push up food prices and hasten deforestation. But then all those who dismiss the claim forget the fact that the scientific community is trying its very best to produce biofuel from bacteria and other sources which do not affect the food supply of the world.
Sir Richard said that this pioneering flight will enable those who are serious about reducing carbon emissions develop the fuels of the future which will power aircrafts through sustained oils from sources such as algae. He himself admitted that coconut oil was ‘not the answer’ but the project would act as a catalyst to develop plant fuels which could eventually replace the kerosene used today.
Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=103576&in_page_id=34
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