Bio Fuels| Coconut Oil & GTL | Another Option To Fly

Bio Fuels| Coconut Oil & GTL | Another Option To Fly

It is serious that natural disaster and other crisis of the world is from Global warming. It is a good new that the biomass could be the answer to a renewable sustainable fuel source. More on environmental crisis.

On 24 February 2008, Boeing, Virgin Atlantic and GE Aviation partnered operated the first commercial flight partially using a sustainable fuel from biomass mix in one of its tanks made from 80 percent kerosene-based jet fuel and a 20 percent blend of babassu oil and coconut oil. Richard Brandson, founder of Virgin, said that the tests had shown it would be possible to fly and aircraft on a 40 percent biofuel blend. He also stated that the company did not choose to use biofuels such as corn oil that compete with staple food sources. There is a growing controversy regarding the environmental benefits of biofuels for using these crops for fuel can drive up food costs and cause deforestation. Though Richard Brandson's got another option that they're looking at the algae as the next biofuel.


Another sister company, Virgin Trains also tried to fly with 20 percent biodiesel content, from UK-grown rapeseed oil,US-grown soybean oil and palm oil from East Asia to power some of its locomotives. The Airbus run the first test flight of a commercial aircraft using a synthetic liguid fuel derived from natural gas (gas-to-liquid or GTL) prior to the Virgin Atlantic flight on 2 February 2008 in a three-hour flight from Bristol to Toulouse. This is less damaging to local air quality and environmental friendly for it is sulfur-free though GTL does not offer offer significantly lower Co2 emissions than conventional kerosene. Boeing and Air New Zealand are also planning a test flight using an alternative fuel source later this year.
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Cleaning up our Water

Cleaning up our Water
Oil, grease, deadly bacteria and disease are all found in our ponds, rivers, lakes and oceans. Now, a new invention may be the first step to cleaning up our water.

From traffic to urban sprawl, environmentalist Mark Gold says it all leaves our water sources dirty and polluted. "Everything you can think of is a source, whether it's your car, your next door neighbor, yourself," says Mark Gold, Ph.D., an environmentalist from Heal the Bay in Santa Monica, Calif.

One solution for all this pollution is the Smart Sponge Plus. Rodolfo Manzone, Ph.D., a chemist at AbTech Industries in Scottsdale, Ariz., says, "It is a very simple system based on a combination of synthetic polymers."

The Smart Sponge Plus uses the same material found in diapers, roofing, car bumpers, and glue and has an anti-microbial coating that removes pollutants and destroys bacteria. The sponge is placed in existing storm drains to catch the pollutants before they end up in rivers, lakes or the ocean.

Rodolfo says, "It has the capability to absorb, retain oil, grease and nitrocarbons and to lock them in and create solid waste." The sponge can also kill E. coli bacteria. The water in our lakes or rivers may not be safe enough to drink yet, but it is clean enough to swim in. And that's a step in the right direction.
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