Govt Spent $39.6 Million Making Jet Fuel From Trees

Alaska Airlines made the first commercial flight using fuel made partly from decaying trees Monday, the culmination of a 5-year project sponsored by the government. The Boeing 737 full of passengers flew successfully from Seattle, Wash., to Washington, D.C. on 1,800 gallons of jet fuel, 20 percent of which came from converting sugars found in wood and other forest waste, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday. USDA contributed a total of $39.6 million to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance at Washington State University in the years following 2011, “betting on the promise that cellulose-rich, discarded wood products could be a viable renewable fuel source instead of going to waste,” Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture, said in a statement...more