It's bad enough for some prop airplanes to be described as being powered by rubber bands. Now the skeptics might begin having a dig at business airplane flying on everything from cooking oil to liquefied algae.


With the civil aviation market under increasing pressure from increasing oil prices and environmental legislation, the race is on to discover feasible alternatives to traditional kerosene and these so far seem to boil down to different types of biofuel.


Not surprisingly, the first trials of alternative fuel were started by British air travel pioneer, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with minimal biofuel use in 2008. This was rapidly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each utilized various blends of regular fuel and bio derivatives consisting of some from made from jatropha which can grow in soil thought about too bad for growing mainstream foods.


Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the family Euphorbiaceae.


In 2007 Goldman Sachs cited Jatropha curcas as one of the very best candidates for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds consisting of 27-40% oil.


Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aerial major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation moved to bring out research study and advancement into the usage of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that Brazilian airlines Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would act as tactical consultants for the job.


The most recent airline to begin exploring with brand-new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has performed internal US flights using a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mixture, it is claimed, can cut hazardous emissions by 10%.


One truly encouraging development has been the move away from biofuels which complete head on with food consumers therefore avoiding a cost spiral. Not so long ago, a surge in use of biofuels in cars triggered a spike in maize prices as US farmers diverted excessive corn to fuel processing.


Hopefully in the future, airlines and drivers will focus biofuel usage on non-food sources such as jatropha and algae. It would be a combined blessing undoubtedly if some individuals ended up starving just to please another person's green qualifications.