Indonesian airline, Garuda, has flown its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel. The 737-800NG aircraft flew from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city, about 550 kilometres (340 miles) away. Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August. The palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina at its Cilacap refinery, using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil. Countries that grow palm oil (usually having caused deforestation and loss of valuable wildlife habitat) want it used in jet fuel, as well as in a vast number of foods and household products. The airline industry is desperate for people to believe that so-called “sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)” can be produced and make flying “low carbon”. Using palm oil in jet fuel certainly will not do that, if the whole lifecycle of the product is considered. The European Union has imposed import restrictions on the palm oil in jet fuel, due to the worsening deforestation problem. Indonesia has mandated 3% biofuel blending by 2020 for jet fuel, but implementation has been delayed.
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OCT 31, 2023 (Biofuels News)
Indonesia has flown its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel.
The Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800NG aircraft flew from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city about 550 kilometres (342 miles) away.
Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August.
The palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina at its Cilacap refinery, using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil.
Pertamina has said the palm-based fuel emits less atmosphere warming greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels, and palm oil producing countries have called for the edible oil to be included in feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Experts say the industry will need 450 billion litres of SAF a year by 2050, if the fuel is to account for around 65% of the mitigation needed to achieve net-zero targets.
But some countries have raised concerns over the potential for deforestation in the production of palm oil from plantations. The European Union has imposed import restrictions on the commodity.
In 2021, Indonesia ran a test flight with the same fuel on an aircraft made by state-owned Dirgantara Indonesia, flying from the city of Bandung in West Java to the capital Jakarta.
Indonesia has mandated 3% biofuel blending by 2020 for jet fuel, but implementation has been delayed.
https://biofuels-news.com/news/indonesian-airline-uses-palm-oil-produced-saf/
By Bernadette Christina (Reuters)
October 27, 2023
JAKARTA. – Indonesia on Friday flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, as the world’s biggest producer of the commodity pushes for wider use of biofuels to cut fuel imports.
Operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft carried more than 100 passengers from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city about 550 kilometres (342 miles) away, Garuda Indonesia CEO Irfan Setiaputra said.
“We will discuss further with Pertamina, Energy Ministry and other parties to ensure this fuel is commercially reasonable,” Irfan said during a ceremony, adding the plane was set to return to Jakarta later on Friday.
Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August.
The palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina (PERTM.UL) at its Cilacap refinery, using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil.
Pertamina has said the palm-based fuel emits less atmosphere warming greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels, and palm oil producing countries have called for the edible oil to be included in feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
“In 2021, Pertamina successfully produced 2.0 SAF in its Cilacap unit using co-processing technology and was made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil with production capacity 1,350 kilolitres per day,” said Alfian Nasution, a director at Pertamina.
Meanwhile, Harris Yahya, a director at Energy Ministry said the use of biofuel would lower the greenhouse effect.
The aviation industry, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, is looking for ways to cut its carbon footprint by using alternative fuels.
Experts say the industry will need 450 billion litres of SAF a year by 2050, if the fuel is to account for around 65% of the mitigation needed to achieve net-zero targets.
But some countries have raised concerns over the potential for deforestation in the production of palm oil from plantations. The European Union has imposed import restrictions on the commodity.
In 2021, Indonesia ran a test flight with the same fuel on an aircraft made by state-owned Dirgantara Indonesia, flying from the city of Bandung in West Java to the capital Jakarta.
Indonesia has mandated 3% biofuel blending by 2020 for jet fuel, but implementation has been delayed.
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See earlier:
A paper has been published by Imperial College, on low-carbon fuels for aviation. The authors looked carefully at the various fuels that the sector is hoping to use in future, to enable it to continue with its expansion plans, flying ever more people each year. The Imperial scientists concluded that hydrogen is impractical and will not contribute significantly as jet fuel in the foreseeable future. They looked at fuels made from various wastes, and their real lifecycle costs, including manufacture and emissions when burned in a jet engine (“well to wake”),and concluded that the scope for production of such fuels, that genuinely offer a CO2 advantage, on a large enough scale, is unlikely. For fuels made from plant material, it is important to look at the timescale of carbon absorption by plants, and its emissions when burned. Ignoring the time lag makes these fuels look unrealistically positive. Looking at “power to liquid” fuels, ie. those made using surplus renewably-generated electricity, they conclude that there will not be enough of this electricity available to make jet fuels in sufficient quantity. They appreciate that it is important that novel fuels to not have other negative environmental impacts. All the novel fuels come with serious problems of scalability and dubious carbon savings.
Click here to view full story…
The UK government has been promoting the idea of “guilt-free flying” in a few years time. Now a report from the Royal Society says (as has been well known by anyone who properly investigated the issue!) that there is currently no single, clear alternative to traditional fuel. Switching to so-called “sustainable” fuel is key to the government’s aim to reach “jet zero” flying by 2050. Realistically, there will be no significant impact on reducing aviation CO2 from electric planes, or hydrogen. Small economies and efficiencies by airlines can only make a small dent, while demand for flights is expected to increase. The Royal Society looked at options for “greener” fuels to replace the 12.3m tonnes of jet fuel used annually in the UK. They conclude that to produce biofuels for UK aviation would require half of Britain’s farming land, putting severe pressure on food supplies and nature. There is not enough genuinely low carbon electricity to produce much “green” hydrogen. The Royal Society says research and development is required to understand and mitigate the non-CO2 climate impacts of all the alternative fuel options. But it stops short of the obvious solution to reducing aviation carbon emissions – reducing the demand for air travel, and not allowing it to grow.
Click here to view full story…
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