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Lufthansa to use biofuel on commercial flights

2nd December 2010 In April 2011, Lufthansa is to begin a six-month trial with an Airbus A321 on scheduled com-mercial flights on the Hamburg-Frankfurt-Hamburg route. Pending certification, one of the aircraft's engines will use a 50-50 mix of biofuel and traditional kerosene. The primary pur-pose of the project is to conduct a long-term trial to study the effect of biofuel on engine maintenance and engine life. During the six months trial, Lufthansa will save around 1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions, said Lufthansa Chief Wolfgang Mayrhuber.

The fuel will be produced by the biomass-to-liquid process, which involves using vegetable wastes as feedstock rather than food crops.

The European Union plans to include airlines in schemes for CO2 emission certificates from 2012, bringing them under pressure to reduce pollution.

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