First commercial flight by Indonesian airline, Garuda, using palm oil
Indonesian airline, Garuda, has flown its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel. The 737-800NG aircraft flew from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city, about 550 kilometres (340 miles) away. Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August. The palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina at its Cilacap refinery, using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil. Countries that grow palm oil (usually having caused deforestation and loss of valuable wildlife habitat) want it used in jet fuel, as well as in a vast number of foods and household products. The airline industry is desperate for people to believe that so-called “sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)” can be produced and make flying “low carbon”. Using palm oil in jet fuel certainly will not do that, if the whole lifecycle of the product is considered. The European Union has imposed import restrictions on the palm oil in jet fuel, due to the worsening deforestation problem. Indonesia has mandated 3% biofuel blending by 2020 for jet fuel, but implementation has been delayed. . Tweet Indonesian airline uses palm oil produced SAF OCT 31, 2023 (Biofuels News) Indonesia has flown its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel. The Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800NG aircraft flew from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city about 550 kilometres (342 miles) away. Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August. The palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina at its Cilacap refinery, using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil. Pertamina has said the palm-based fuel emits less atmosphere warming greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels, and palm oil producing countries have called for the edible oil to be included in feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Experts say the industry will need 450 billion litres of SAF a year by 2050, if the fuel is to account for around 65% of the mitigation needed to achieve net-zero targets. But some countries have raised concerns over the potential for deforestation in the production of palm oil from
