Going green: Biofuel research at a Boeing laboratory in Seattle.

Boeing wants to use green diesel on its airplanes to reduce the environmental footprint.  The American aircraft maker says it has identified green diesel as “a significant new source of sustainable aviation biofuel.”

Green diesel is made from oils and fats and is already used in ground transportation.

It emits at least 50 per cent less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel over its lifecycle, Boeing said Tuesday.

“Boeing researchers performed analysis that found green diesel… to be chemically similar to today’s aviation biofuel. If approved, the fuel could be blended directly with traditional jet fuel,” the company said.

Efforts are already underway to gain regulatory approval for aircraft to fly on green diesel, it said.

“Green diesel approval would be a major breakthrough in the availability of competitively priced, sustainable aviation fuel,” said James Kinder of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Propulsion Systems Division.

“We are collaborating with our industry partners and the aviation community to move this innovative solution forward and reduce the industry’s reliance on fossil fuel.”

Boeing noted that significant green diesel production capacity already exists in the United States, Europe and Singapore that could supply as much as one per cent of global commercial jet fuel demand.

Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration, engine manufacturers, green diesel producers and others are now compiling a detailed research report that will be submitted to key stakeholders in the fuel approvals process, the company said.

Images are courtesy of Boeing.