Air New Zealand plane flies on Jatropha oil

The pilot in command of the biofuel test flight is Air New Zealand 747 Fleet Manager Captain Keith Pattie. During the flight Captain Pattie and his crew will undertake a number of fuel tests confirming and measuring the performance of the engine and fuel systems at various altitudes and under a variety of operating conditions.

These farmers could use previously unused tracts of arid land to plant these shrubs, which require very little water and thrive in poor soil. And the world's valuable high-yield food-crop fields would then also not have to be diverted into biofuel manufacture - as is now being done on a massive scale with corn and sunflower, food-crops growing on high-yield, valuable fields and which now often are turned into biofuel.

Many people are familiar with "first generation" biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, which are primarily derived from corn and soybeans at present. Yet corn and soybeans are staple food crops and require large amounts of land and resources such as water and fertilizers. This makes them unsustainable sources for biofuel.

Sustainability considers environmental, economic and social impacts. In addition to having lower lifecycle CO2 emissions, sustainable second-generation biofuels do not compete with food or fresh water resources or cause deforestation, while providing socioeconomic value to local communities.