Virgin Atlantic is set to make the first flight by a commercial airline using biofuel.The flight will take-off from Heathrow airport in London and will fly to Amsterdam.It will not have any passengers on board.One of the Boeing 747's engines will be connected to an independent tank that will provide 20% of the engine's power.This will eliminate the risk to the flight that will have three engines running on conventional fuel which are capable of powering the plane if there is a problem. Virgin has refused to disclose what its biofuel, which is plant derived,is made from.It has stressed that the source will be revealed after the flight, but have explained that it does not compete with staple food resources.The Virgin flight is meant not only to prove the viability of alternative fuels to power aircraft, but also to challenge the conventional belief that biofuels freeze above 15,000 feet.
Various reports have suggested that although biofuels could play an important role in cutting greenhouse emissions, it would be disastrous if biofuel production was allowed to make inroads into biological diversity and natural ecosystems. Such damage can be done quickly, but may be difficult to reverse.
Biofuels, mainly diesel and ethanol made from plants are a viable option for replacing natural oil, but the carbon savings depend on what crop is used for the purpose. An indiscriminate switch to biofuels may raise food prices significantly all over the world.
Nevertheless, increasing biofuel production goes a long way towards promoting global energy security. Currently research is focussed on converting non- food vegetation into ethanol. Once the range of crops that can be used to manufacture ethanol expands sufficiently, the switch to such fuels will become convenient.