It seems that there is now one more use for the Tobacco plant apart from getting people high.
South African Airways (SAA) has recently concluded a flight using jet fuel from a tobacco plant. According to the airline, it used 6,300 litres of bio jet fuel for a one-way trip to Cape Town from Johannesburg. This initiative was carried out in conjunction with plane maker Boeing Co. and jet-fuel producer SkyNRG.
“We want to be flying 50 percent of our airliners using biofuels by 2022,” Acting Chief Executive Officer Musa Zwane told reporters.
This is the airline’s first contribution towards the use of renewable resources for fuel.
Ian Cruickshank, head of environmental affairs, told reports that “SAA aims to have used 20 million litres of bio-jet fuel by the fourth quarter of 2017. He said the company is seeking to use 500 million litres by the same time in 2023.
Globally airlines are looking at ways to power flights from biofuels to limit the environmental impact of aviation and ease dependency on oil.
