Historic flight…a plane from London to New York fueled by “cooking oil”

For the first time, a long-haul commercial aircraft will fly across the Atlantic Ocean from London to New York using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel, consisting primarily of used cooking oil and plant products.

Treated esters and fatty acids extracted from used cooking oil make up 88 percent of the fuel used on the flight.

The use of such fuel does not require special engines or any modifications to the aircraft.

The idea sounds very bright, but the cost of preparing such fuel may make producing companies reconsider.

Sustainable fuel is currently manufactured only in small quantities, as its cost is between 3 and 5 times the cost of regular aviation fuel, so the British government does not favor using it to operate aircraft.

“This is not a zero-emission flight, but it certainly proves that we have tremendous tools and great opportunities to significantly reduce carbon,” Holly Boyd Boland, vice president of corporate development at British airline Virgin Atlantic, told Sky News.

In the same context, Professor Graham Hutchings from Cardiff University explained: “This Virgin journey is a good thing, but we need to be very clear about the strengths, limitations and challenges that must be addressed and overcome if we are to scale those new technologies required within a few decades.” .

Airlines are pinning their hopes on sustainable fuel to reduce net emissions by up to 70 percent compared to using conventional fuel, as they try to reduce reliance on carbon components before developing new options that operate on electricity and hydrogen.

It is noteworthy that commercial aviation currently represents up to 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.