Biofuels help reduce emissions from airplanes at cruise conditions Posted: April 4, 2017

A mixture of biofuel and conventional fuel reduces airplane emissions by 50 to 70% compared to conventional fuel, according to the first ever in-flight study of biofuel aerosol emissions. Researchers including Canadian Anthony Brown at the National Research Council in Ottawa, measured aerosol emissions from an aircraft flying behind the test plane, a technique that provided more accurate results than ground tests. Aerosols released by plane engines in-flight contribute to the formation of clouds, which can affect the climate through their interaction with radiation from sunlight and by changing how much water is stored in the atmosphere. Findings from this in-flight study can help determine the efficiency of biofuel use as a strategy to mitigate anthropogenic climate change. More at Nature.