Good news on emerging bio fuel markets

Lufthansa Trials bio fuels

German airline Lufthansa has acquired jatropha oil from Jatenergy for use as bio-jet fuel in its trial of renewable jet fuel, which will be piloted in regular flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt.

The crude jatropha oil was supplied from Jatenergy's operations in Central Java, Indonesia, where it has partnered with PT Waterland International.

Lufthansa purchased 200 tonnes of the jatropha oil for $1,000 (€710) per tonne. Finland's Neste Oil will refine the oil into bio-jet.

ASTM International's approval for the blending of up to 50% of biofuel with conventional jet fuel earlier this year has resulted in a high demand for bio-jet fuel from airlines.

'We can't produce enough jatropha oil at the moment to meet demand,' says CEO of Jatenergy, Phil Hodgson. 'Apart from sales to airlines such as Lufthansa, there is also interest from power generators and traditional biodiesel producers at prices linked to vegetable oils such as palm oil. Palm oil has priced between $1,000-1,250 per tonne during 2011, which is around $140-180 per barrel. Our average ex-works production costs for the oil are around $460 per tonne, or $65 per barrel.'

Jatenergy currently cultivates its jatropha on 2,000 hectares of land. However, with expectations to sell 1,000 tonnes of jatropha oil this financial year, the company is planning to expand its plantation by 9,000 hectares. Within the next five to six years Hodgson says the company will have scaled up to over 100,000 hectares. 'Central Java has the potential to be a world scale plant oil producer,' he says.

Lufthansa announced its six-month trial using bio-jet fuel on regular commercial flights back in mid-July. The project will be used to monitor the reduction of CO2 emissions using bio-jet fuel compared to regular jet fuel. A 50/50 blend of bio-jet fuel will be used in one Airbus 321. The trial is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 1,500 tonnes.

In addition to testing CO2 emissions, Lufthansa will also use these trial flights to examine the effect of bio-jet fuel on the aeroplane's engine, including maintenance and lifespan.

 

 

Bio fuels compete with Kerosine

SG Biofuels, the San Diego-based company backed by Airbus SAS, said it will plant 75,000 acres of jatropha in Brazil to power aircraft for about $50 a barrel less than traditional jet fuel.

Closely held SG Biofuels, also supported by the Inter- American Development Bank, will produce unrefined jatropha oil that will sell for $75 a barrel, President Kirk Haney said in an interview yesterday. Refined jet fuel cost about $126 a barrel in New York Harbor spot market on Sept. 12, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

High petroleum prices and government pressure to lower greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change are prompting airlines to experiment with plant-derived fuels. Grupo Aeromexico SAB de CV flew the first commercial transcontinental flight with a plant oil-kerosene blend on Aug. 2. Test flights have shown that planes can fly on fuel made with weeds, wood chips and algae.

Jatropha "is the most practical way of blending with jet fuel today," Haney said. The plant produces inedible oil and grows well in low-quality soils.

The development of higher-yielding seeds is expected to bring prices down to $38 a barrel in ten years, he said. Manufacturing so-called bio-kerosene from jatropha oil is already "cost-effective" with crude oil prices at $112 a barrel, he said.

SG Biofuels will develop its plantations with Bioventures Brasil in west-central Brazil, according to the statement. The seeds will be crushed into 45 million liters (11.9 million gallons) of oil once the plantations reach maturity in 2015 and then processed into fuel in the state of Sao Paulo, Haney said.

Other companies involved in SG Biofuels' project include Brazilian airline Tam SA (TAMM4), which will buy some of the fuel, and U.K. oil company BP Plc (BP/), according to a company statement.

Similar-sized projects in different countries will be announced in the coming months, Haney said.

 

 

Bio Fuels in Military Field Trials

New Delhi: In a significant move which can reduce the fuel bill of defence forces, DRDO is experimenting with bio-diesel for military vehicles such as the bullet-proof Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs).

The field trials of the bio-diesel on military vehicles are being conducted at DRDO's Pune-based lab, Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VDRE), which specialises in developing defence vehicles.

"Defence Ministry has approved the directives for user trials of the bio-diesel and all the tests would be completed in another six month's time," DRDO Chief Controller William Selvamurthy said here.

"We are testing the fuel in terms of torque, power and other parameters keeping in mind engine's performance. 20 per cent of bio-diesel mixed with regular diesel has been accepted by the engines," said Director, Defence Institute of Bio- Energy Research (DIBER), Zakwan Ahmed.

Results of the tests which are being carried out on BMP-II engine, Swaraj Mazda and 2.5 tonne Tata trucks are being analysed for further improvement in the fuel and its quality, he said.

The bio-diesel extracted from Jatropha seeds is produced by DRDO at its Secunderabad-based facilities, where over 400 acres of land is being used for growing the plant.

During the technical trial phase, the bio-fuel experts in DRDO successfully managed to increase its shelf life by two years by increasing the proportion of anti-oxidants in it.

"We have also added anti-freezing agents in this fuel to increase its freezing point so that it can be used in high altitude areas," Ahmed said.

The project to develop bio-fuels for military vehicles and tanks was started a couple of years ago with DRDO making a significant breakthrough in developing oil which can be used to replace diesel in automobiles from the seeds of Jatropha plants.

 

(Original stories from Biofuels international, Zee News and Bloomberg)