Continental Airlines to Make Algae Biofuel Test Flight

Jan. 7, 2008 -- If you were watching airplanes take off from Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston today, you probably wouldn't notice anything odd about Continental Flight No. 9990. But during its planned two-hour flight, the aircraft will be burning a fuel made of algae and jatropha, a plant that grows in arid lands.

The demonstration is the first by a U.S. commercial airliner to test biofuel in flight.

"Nothing has been modified," Erik Bachelet, president of engine manufacturer CFM International, told Discovery News. "The aircraft is expected to resume its normal daily service after the operation."

No passengers will be aboard for Wednesday's test flight, which required special licensing from the FAA. The point of the exercise is to collect information about how the airplane performs with one of its engines burning a fuel that is 50 percent petroleum-based and 50 percent derived from plants.

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"We're looking to see that the biofuel performs the same as traditional fuel," said Continental spokeswoman Susannah Thurston.

The fuel looks like ordinary jet fuel -- there's no algae smell and it's not green, said Susan Gross, a spokeswoman for UOP, a Honeywell company that develops and licenses technology to refineries.

The biofuel was blended with standard airplane fuel to meet density requirements for optimal jet engine performance.