Future Option for Aviation Fuel

            Boeing, the largest airplane manufacture in the world, is looking to go green. Their quest is to find a fuel that will greatly reduce the environmental damage that results from all of their jets without out a complete overhaul of a fleet that has thousands of jets across the world. The researchers are looking into developing a bio-fuel out of soy beans or algae that they will first use in Boeing’s crown jewel, the 747. A bio-fuel that could be used without making any adaption to the fleet is the Boeing researcher’s ultimate goal. The scientists have a tremendous challenge ahead of them because the bio-fuel needs to have similar properties of today’s fossil fuels, which keep them from freezing and packing vast amounts energy for the large turbine engines. Due to the large amount of crops that would be required to produce the massive amount of bio-fuel needed to fuel the fleet, they must also integrate the blend in slowly, probably at rates of 20 to 50 percent once they get the proper blend.

 González, Ángel. "To Go Green in Jet Fuel, Boeing Looks at Algae." The Seattle Times.The Seattle Times, 30 Aug. 2007. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2003858756_boeingenergy30.html>.