Global sale of green air travel supported using biodiesel

The technical feasibility of operating commercial aircraft on low concentration biodiesel in kerosene blends is reviewed. Although the analysis is preliminary, it seems plausible that a biodiesel component could be introduced without significant modification to aircraft, airport infrastructure, and flight operations. The use of a biodiesel component, even for only a subset of flight operations, would open the possibility of giving all passengers, the world over, regardless of route, the option to pay a premium to make their journey on “green” fuel (actually biodiesel). In this way, the airline industry could recover the additional cost of biodiesel in comparison to kerosene. The costs associated with such a scheme are estimated, as is consumer demand. Although the analysis is preliminary, the scheme appears commercially viable. From a humanitarian and/or environmental perspective, marketing flight on biodiesel as “green air travel” is problematic. On the one hand, the use of biodiesel in aviation would reduce addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and foster development of sustainable technology. On the other hand, it would require that agricultural resources be dedicated to air travel, nominally a luxury, in a world where agricultural resources appear destined to come under increasing strain merely to satisfy humanity’s basic food and energy needs. A preliminary discussion of these issues is presented. It is hoped that this can serve as the starting point for further discussion, at an international level, to reach consensus on whether marketing of flight on biodiesel as “green air travel” should be allowed to proceed, or whether it should be declared unethical.