Coconut oil has been used to power
diesel engines for decades. Using
coconut oil in place of or as an additive
to regular diesel fuel increases power,
extends engine life, and dramatically
cuts toxic emissions. Because of these
advantages coconut oil is being tested
as a jet fuel.
Virgin Atlantic Airlines carried out
the world’s first flight of a commercial
aircraft powered with a biofuel made
from coconut oil in 2008. The Boeing
747 flew from London to Amsterdam.
Neither the jet nor the engines needed
to be redesigned or altered for this test
flight.
“This breakthrough will help Virgin
Atlantic to fly its planes using clean fuel
sooner than expected,” Sir Richard
Branson, the airline’s president, said
before the Boeing 747 flew from
London’s Heathrow Airport to
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. He said
the flight would provide “crucial
knowledge that we can use to
dramatically reduce our carbon
footprint.”
The flight was partially fueled with a
biofuel mixture of coconut and babassu
oil in one of its four main fuel tanks.
The jet carried pilots and several
technicians, but no passengers. The
flight is another example of how the
world’s airlines are jumping on the
environmental bandwagon by trying to
find ways of reducing aviation’s carbon
footprint. These efforts have included
finding alternative jet fuels, developing
engines that burn existing fuels more
slowly, and changing the way planes
land.
Aircraft engines cause noise
pollution and emit gases and
particulates that reduce air quality and
contribute to environmental pollution.
Using coconut oil as a jet and diesel fuel
can help keep our planet clean.

Source:
www.coconutresearchcenter.org/hwnl_9-4.htm