South African Airways (SAA) and aircraft manufacturer Boeing are developing jet fuel from tobacco plants to help curb carbon emissions.
The fuel will derive from a hybrid tobacco plant, Solaris, which can be produced by alternative jet fuel maker SkyNRG."By using hybrid tobacco, we can leverage knowledge of tobacco growers in South Africa to grow a marketable biofuel crop without encouraging smoking," Ian Cruickshank, SAA’s group environmental affairs specialist, said.
The pilot project is currently underway with the biofuel product expected to be released in the “next few years.”
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