Today, SpiceJet will operate a demonstration flight powered by bio-fuel making it India’s first company to do so.
The airline’s Q400 plane will conduct a flight at Dehradun. If the test passes off successfully, the aircraft — powered by a mix of conventional air turbine fuel and bio-fuel — will operate a flight to Delhi.
Jatropha oil for this flight comes from seeds sown in Chhatisgarh. Japtropha has 34% oil content and a low gestation period. 500 farmer families in Chhatisgarh presently involved in production of semi refined jatropha bio fuel.
The biofuel for the SpiceJet flight has been developed by Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun. The fuel has been analyzed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and Indian Oil.
In India, eco-friendly fuel initiatives have failed to take off. The key challenge is to make bio jet fuel cheaper. To do this, a barrel of jatropha oil needs to cost about $40 a barrel, half the price of a barrel of crude. Post refining, the cost of both need to be similar. Cost benefits come from higher efficiency.
With 1.8 % higher energy density, bio jet engines are more fuel efficient=lower cost of operations. Cleaner fuel means lower maintenance=lower costs.
The first-ever flight using bio-fuel was flown ten years ago by the Virgin Atlantic airlines between London and Amsterdam.
Reference- Business Standard, TOI, Eenadu, Vishnu Som (NDTV)