New aircraft fuel could be pie in the sky

Richard Branson has pledged to fund research into alternative fuel for aircraft, but what lies behind the announcement?


September 25, 2006 11:12 AM

So now we know: Richard Branson doesn't read the Guardian. On Thursday, it published an extract from my book showing that there are no foreseeable substitutes for aviation fuel (kerosene) that don't currently cause more harm than good. A few hours later, Branson announced that he would be investing £1.6bn in technologies intended to reduce climate change. First among them would be alternative fuels for aircraft.

He singled out biofuels as a promising opportunity. While pure biodiesel can be used to run a car engine, it cannot be used in jet planes at a higher concentration than roughly 10%. This is because its "cloud point" is much higher than kerosene's. At low temperatures, oils go cloudy, and at a couple of degrees beyond that point, they form a gel that would block the engine. As the plane rises through the troposphere, and the temperature cools, its engines would clog and stall. Even a 10% mixture is likely to be fatal, as it raises the cloud point from -51C to -29C.
This can be partly countered by repeatedly cooling the fuel and filtering out the ice crystals, but that requires a great deal of energy. Far worse, biofuels are currently causing far more climate change than they prevent. Rainforests are being cleared to plant palm oil and sugar cane. Other forms of agriculture are being driven onto virgin land as the global demand for grain rises. Rising grain prices, blamed by the UN food and agriculture organisation primarily on the demand for biofuels, already threaten the food security of the world's poor - and it is likely to get a lot worse.

So is Branson going to do something about it? You've got to be kidding. Virgin Atlantic's three-year growth plan is "aimed at capturing greater business market share, with products tailored towards premium passengers at the heart of the strategy. The airline is targeting an increase of at least 10% in the number of business travellers over the next year."
Branson's announcement was a marvellous publicity coup, as so many of his initiatives are. But is there anything behind it?

We have the options available to us, but why aren't they at our disposal? Surely if its a way to save the Earth's every increasing crisis then it should be in use now?