{"id":10374,"date":"2015-09-12T13:38:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-12T20:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=10374"},"modified":"2015-09-12T13:38:09","modified_gmt":"2015-09-12T20:38:09","slug":"farm-and-municipal-waste-to-bio-jet-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/farm-and-municipal-waste-to-bio-jet-fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm and Municipal Waste to Bio Jet Fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"

United Airlines has united with two partners, AltAir Fuels <\/a>and Fulcrum BioEnergy<\/a>, to fly on sustainable alternative fuels.\u00a0 Think of each flight being cleaner, using what formerly were unusable, land-fill-bound waste products, and certain to make United more sustainable, and flights less costly.<\/p>\n

\"Biofuel<\/a>

Biofuel from municipal waste seems like a good plan. This site’s in Argentina, showing the universality of the resource<\/p><\/div>\n

Earlier efforts at producing biofuels relied on converting food, such as corn, into fuel, an uneconomical process that raised food prices and often used more energy than it produced in ethanol, for instance.\u00a0 This was not sustainable and didn\u2019t allow economic benefits for its users, so fell into disrepute quickly.<\/p>\n

Organizations like the United Nations spoke out against taking grains from the poorest among us to make fuels for jetsetters.\u00a0 In their 2009 report<\/a>, UNEP, the United Nations Environment Program, calculated that up to 34 percent of arable land would be required to produce the fuel necessary to maintain current\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Powerful firms sometimes take farms from poor communities<\/a> in third-world countries to produce biofuels, adding human misery to a negative list.<\/p>\n

Luckily, our existing food production and waste systems can provide a great deal of the raw materials necessary to produce jet fuel, and probably diesel oil and ethanol, that we will need to transport our mobile population.\u00a0 United will mix non-edible oils and agricultural waste with conventional jet fuel for its flights: the FAA does not allow 100-percent biofuels for flight, yet.<\/p>\n

“We believe that one of our greatest opportunities to reduce the aviation industry\u2019s environmental footprint is through sustainable alternative fuels,” says Angela Foster-Rice, United\u2019s managing director for environmental affairs and sustainability.<\/p>\n

\"United<\/a>

United Eco-Skies 737-900ER with added livery to indicate biofuel on board<\/p><\/div>\n

Like other airlines, United has been dabbling in biofuels for some time, making the first such test flight in 2009, using an algae-derived blend, and the first commercial flight in 2011.\u00a0 Even though United signed an agreement with AltAir six years ago, it\u2019s just now starting to receive deliveries at a commercial level.\u00a0 Foster-Rice says that pricing of alternative fuel feedstocks and raising necessary capital investments slowed the process.\u00a0 United plans to buy 15 million gallons of AltAir fuel over the next three years.<\/p>\n

Not limiting itself to a single supplier, United has invested$30 million in Fulcrum BioEnergy, a startup that turns household trash into jet fuel. According to trust.org, \u201cFulcrum’s first refinery will be finished in Nevada in 2016, down the street from Tesla’s massive new battery factory. It plans to quickly build five more.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 United hopes to obtain up to 180 million gallons of biofuel from Fulcrum each year from the combined six plants.<\/p>\n

Municipal waste is a great source, being universal and already collected on a regular basis.\u00a0 Getting waste out of landfills accounts for part of the appeal of this fuel, with reduced methane emissions accounting for a sharp reduction in greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n

\"Fulcrum's<\/a>

Fulcrum’s infographic explaining the municipal waste to aircraft fuel process<\/p><\/div>\n

United\u00a0claims\u00a0a 50-percent reduction<\/a> in carbon emissions from using AltAir biofuel, while\u00a0Fulcrum claims an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to traditional jet fuel from using its biofuel.<\/p>\n

United flights this fall between LAX and SFO will lower each passenger\u2019s carbon footprint from substituting a cleaner fuel, without each person realizing he or she is helping meet climate goals.\u00a0 Each gallon of alternative fuel burned reduces the number of pounds of waste rotting and giving off pollutants.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t hug trees, the monetary advantages are compelling.\u00a0 Thepointsguy.com<\/em> explains<\/a>, fuel is the most expensive operating expense of major carriers.\u00a0 Others, both to meet environmental objectives and remain profitable, are turning to biofuels.<\/p>\n

United spent $11.6 billion on 3.9 billion gallons of fuel last year, about $2.99 a gallon and 32 percent of their operating expenses.\u00a0 Fulcrum claims to be able to drop that to about $1.00, a saving even with a 30\/70 blend of their brew with conventional jet fuel.<\/p>\n

Hong-Kong-based Cathay Pacific\u00a0has an equity stake in Fulcrum BioEnergy, hoping to become carbon-neutral by 2020.\u00a0 Alaska and Southwest have signed agreements for biofuels, the latter for clean fuel made from wood residue.<\/p>\n