[xoxoxoBruce]

Seattle Times 07/22/2007

Brazilian scientist Expedito Parente, the man known as the father of biodiesel, told us he visited Seattle recently to further his collaboration with Boeing on a project to create biofuel for jets as an alternative to petroleum-based fuel.

Parente, founder of biodiesel producer TecBio, has been working with NASA and Boeing to develop vegetable-based fuels from palm oil crops to use as aviation-grade fuel, which he calls biokerosene. Ethanol made from sugarcane powers a third of the cars in Brazil, which has become a world leader in alternative fuels; even Brazilian regional-jet maker Embraer has built an ethanol-powered plane.

Aircraft fuel is a major expense for airlines. U.S. airlines use an average of 1.6 billion gallons of fuel each month, according to the Air Transport Association. The price per gallon has jumped from $1.208 in 2004 to $1.968 last year to $2.081 in May; each extra penny per gallon costs the industry almost $200 million per year.

Meanwhile Air New Zealand also is working with Boeing and New Zealand-based biofuel developer Aquaflow Bionomic, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. What's the source of the jets' new secret sauce? Wild algae, also known as pond scum. Guess this stuff won't smell quite as good as French fries.

Pond scum? There are people I know that could finally be of value to humanity.