Emirates Completes Test Flight with Environment Friendlier Fuel

Emirates Completes Test Flight with Environment Friendlier Fuel

International airline Emirates says it successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight with one engine running on a mixture of "sustainable" fuel.

The test flight took place Monday and lasted about an hour. The Emirates plane took off from Dubai International Airport and then headed out into the Persian Gulf¹ before returning to the airport.

The Boeing 777 aircraft was powered by two General Electric engines. One engine ran on the sustainable mixture. The other was powered by traditional airplane fuel to ensure safety.

Emirates' chief operating officer, Adel al-Redha, called the successful test flight "a milestone² moment for Emirates and a positive step for our industry." He said the step demonstrated the airline's desire to deal with one of the industry's biggest problems, carbon pollution releases related to air travel.

Emirates is a state-owned airline operated by the United Arab Emirates (or UAE). The UAE is a collection of seven emirates also known individually as sheikdoms.

The ruler of one of the emirates, Dubai, is Sheikh Mohammed bin³ Rashid Al Maktoum. He described the sustainable fuel used for the flight as a mix "that mirrored the qualities of jet fuel." The mixture included fuel provided by Neste, a Finnish company, and U.S.-based fuel maker⁴ Virent.

Sustainable jet fuel

Virent says it uses plant-based sugars to make the compounds needed for sustainable jet fuel. Neste's fuel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Those fuels cut the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide burned off by engines in flight.

Airline flights release only one-sixth the amount of carbon dioxide produced by cars and trucks, the Washington-based World Resources Institute reports. However, airplanes are used by far fewer people per day than road vehicles. This means flying has a higher per-capita release of carbon emissions⁶.

Airplane and engine manufacturers have been designing more environmentally-friendly versions in recent years. The general goal is to produce less-polluting engines to reduce fuel emissions in an effort to help limit the effects of climate change.

But the measures have also helped cut operating costs related to fuel. Emirates, for example, used more than 5 metric tons of jet fuel last year alone. This amounted to about $3.7 billion of Emirates' $17 billion in yearly operating costs.

Experts have noted⁷ that fuels considered sustainable can be three times or more the cost of traditional jet fuel. This added cost is likely to be passed onto flyers if sustainable fuels became more commonly used across the industry.

It was not immediately clear how much the fuel used in the Emirates' test on Monday cost per barrel. The average jet fuel cost at the end of last week was $146 a barrel, energy company S&P Global Platts reported.

The UAE is a major oil producer and exporter. It is set to host the next United Nations climate negotiations⁸, known as COP28, beginning in November. The UAE has already been criticized by environmental activists⁹ for nominating the head of Abu Dhabi's state oil company to lead the U.N. negotiations.

Words in This Story

sustainable – adj. able to continue over time

milestone – n. an important event in the development or history of something

positive – adj. something that has a good effect or result

mirror – v. to be similar to or represent something

per-capita – adj. per unit of population, meaning by or for each person

emission⁵ – n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》