Etihad operates proof-of-concept 787 flight with local biofuel

Etihad Airways has operated its first flight powered by a mix of standard kerosene and biofuel produced in the emirate. The Boeing 787, powered GE GEnx-1B engines, operated an Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam service. The percentage of biofuel used is not precisely known, but was small, as production of the new fuel has just completed a pilot stage on a two-hectare site in Abu Dhabi. The significance of the fuel is that it is made from the seeds of the Salicornia plant, which does not require arable land and can tolerate salt water—a critical consideration in a region such as the Gulf. The system works by initially pumping seawater into a fish farm; waste water from the fish tanks is then used to fertilize the plants, which extract nutrients from it. Thereafter, the wastewater is passed through multiple rows of mangrove plants, which filter and clean the water and allow it to be returned to the sea. The project has a double benefit in that the fish grown at the farm can then be used as food, increasing the emirate’s food security. Seeds from the plants are harvested, crushed and the oil from them processed. The flight is the first to have been operated on fuel derived from plants grown in saltwater.<br/>