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<br>It's bad enough for some prop planes to be explained as being powered by rubber bands. Now the cynics could begin having a dig at [business airplane](https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-178469/company/) flying on whatever from [cooking oil](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) to liquefied algae.<br> |
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<br>With the [civil aviation](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) market under increasing pressure from rising oil costs and [ecological](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) legislation, the race is on to discover feasible options to standard kerosene and these so far seem to come down to various kinds of [biofuel](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html).<br> |
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<br>Not surprisingly, the first trials of alternative fuel were started by British aviation leader, Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic began London to Amsterdam flights with restricted [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) usage in 2008. This was quickly followed by Lufthansa and Air New Zealand who each used different blends of routine fuel and [bio derivatives](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) [including](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) some from made from [jatropha curcas](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) which can grow in soil considered too poor for growing mainstream [foods items](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb).<br> |
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<br>[jatropha curcas](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) is a genus of approximately 175 [succulent](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy) plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like [Jatropha curcas](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb)), from the family Euphorbiaceae.<br> |
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<br>In 2007 Goldman Sachs cited [Jatropha curcas](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159346/mission-newenergy-delivers-maiden-biodiesel-production-to-global-oil-major-24476.html) as one of the best prospects for future [biodiesel](https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/felda-global-buys-missions-kuantan-port-plant-for-11-5-million-9053) production. It is resistant to drought and bugs, and produces seeds consisting of 27-40% oil.<br> |
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<br>Recently, US aerospace giant Boeing, Brazilian aeronautical major Embraer and the Sao Paulo state Research Support Foundation [transferred](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) to perform research and development into the use of biofuels to power jet airliners. It was reported that [Brazilian airlines](https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/MNELF:US) Azul, Gol, TAM and Trip would function as strategic specialists for the project.<br> |
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<br>The most current airline to begin explore new fuels is the Alaska Air Group which has performed internal US flights using a blend of 80 % petroleum based fuel and 20% biofuel made from cooking oil. This mix, it is declared, can cut harmful emissions by 10%.<br> |
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<br>One truly motivating advancement has been the relocation far from [biofuels](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) which compete head on with food [customers](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) thus avoiding a cost spiral. Not so long earlier, a surge in use of biofuels in automobiles triggered a spike in maize rates as US farmers diverted too much corn to fuel processing.<br> |
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<br>Hopefully in the future, and [motorists](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) will focus biofuel usage on non-food sources such as [jatropha curcas](https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/shares/asx-mbt/mission-newenergy-limited/share-price) and algae. It would be a mixed blessing undoubtedly if some individuals wound up starving simply to satisfy someone else's green credentials.<br> |