Continental Airlines to Conduct Biofuel Flight in January

Continental Airlines is to conduct its first biofuel-powered demonstration flight in Houston on 7 January 2009.

The demonstration flight, which will be operated with no passengers, will be powered by a special fuel blend including components derived from algae and jatropha plants - sustainable, second-generation fuel sources that don’t impact food crops or water resources, and don’t contribute to deforestation.

Continental has partnered on this project with Boeing; CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of General Electric Company and Snecma; refining technology developer UOP, a Honeywell company; and oil providers Sapphire Energy (algae) and Terrasol (jatropha).

The demonstration flight will use a two-engine aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 equipped with CFM International CFM56-7B engines. The fuel used in one of the two CFM engines during the demonstration flight will be a blend of 50% traditional jet fuel, and 50% biofuel from algae and jatropha.

See other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Promotions, New Hotels, Continental Airlines, Biofuel, Boeing