Australian airline Qantas will announce this month that they will be building the world's second commercial-scale plant to produce biojet fuel completely made from waste for its aircraft.
The airline is partnering with Solena, an American biofuel maker to build the plant, which will convert food scraps, household materials like grass and tree cuttings, and agricultural and industrial waste into biojet fuel.
Solena has already partnered with British Airways to build a similar plant in London that will convert 500,000 tons of waste into 16 million gallons of biojet fuel a year. That plant will be up and running in 2014.
Almost every airline has been testing biofuels in their aircraft, with successful results so far. Right now, only a 50/50 blend of biofuel and jet fuel is certified for use in the U.S. and the U.K., though British Airways is looking to use 100 percent biojet fuel once it's approved.
