This is something that is sure to get a lot of attention and will do so for all the right reasons. ‘Weed’ is finally in and that is surely not what you think it is. Air New Zealand is all set to let one of its Boeing 747 be powered by fuel that is derived from a common weed called ‘Jatropha’. The weed is commonly found in India and Africa and is such a big nuisance that it is hard to get rid of. The weed actually spreads pretty rapidly and can fill up a pond in matter of few days after being first spotted. In fact if you happen to just take a stroll for 10 minutes from my home you will find plenty of it lying around (Which makes me wonder if I could get rich once this works).
Air New Zealand is planning to fill one of the four engines of a 747 with the weed and the remaining three engines with normal jet fuel to test the potential of using jatropha as a biofuel. It’s not derived from a food source like ethanol is, which is a big bonus for ANZ. This means that in future you will see cleaner skies and more use of biofuel. It is no new news that the aviation industry has been trying hard to clean itself up. Add to that the fact that aviation fuel is really getting expensive and you will understand why they are trying so hard.
Irrespective of the motive being economical or ecological, it is nice to see more such ventures in the past year or so. I really hope this works not just for environment’s sake but also for my sake. There is plenty of Jatropha here you know and if I know this first, I could actually get rich… maybe!
