Green Issues


TAM tests Brazilian biofuel


Latin American carrier TAM Airlines completed its first flight using vegetable-based bio fuel this November. The Airbus A320 took off from Rio de


Janeiro’s Tom Jobim Airport and took a 45-minute flight out over the Atlantic in Brazilian airspace before returning. The biofuel is produced from the


oil of the Jatropha Curcas, a Brazilian vegetable biomass. As well as the two TAM pilots, there were 18 other passengers, including technicians and executives from TAM and Airbus. TAM has committed to establish


a crop of the vegetable at its Technological Centre in São Carlos, in order to ‘conduct technical and economic feasibility studies to start the implementation of an integrated value chain in Brazil’. The vegetable biomass is produced from family agricultural projects and sizeable farms in Brazil that are dedicated to the pioneer of Jatropha curcas. Known in Brazil as ‘pinhão manso’, the plant does not compete with the food chain as it’s not suitable for human or animal consumption, and can be planted alongside pastures and food crops. Studies conducted by the Michigan Technological University have demonstrated that biofuels made from Jatropha curcas enable a carbon emissions reduction of between 65 and 80 per cent compared to petroleum-derived aviation kerosene. TAM’s young and modern Airbus


fleet produces among the lowest carbon footprints in the region.” www.TAM.com.br


The trash compactor


Cabin space is a valuable commodity and storage of waste has become a critical concern. Jo Austin talks to Thomas Lee, director business development of Zodiac Aerospace, about his rubbish idea


OBH What brought about the idea for designing a trash compactor? TL: We had developed a fixed compaction unit at Zodiac Aerospace that stayed in the galley at all times and trash


was then brought back to the unit for compaction. The Association of European Airlines then asked whether we could do anything to support recycling as green issues really started surfacing around 1990. While I was travelling in Europe, I arrived at Zurich Airport. While walking through the airport, a light bulb went off in my head (one of the epiphanies). I looked around for something to write on and saw a paper napkin in an airport bar. I went over to the bar, opened up a napkin and drew out the idea for a recycling trash compactor that would also have the ability for mobile collection. That napkin is now framed in my office as is the patent for this product. I have an engineering degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, but a lot of this is simply working with products over many years and synthesising solutions to new problems like “how can your machine handle recycling?” Incidentally, this product won the President’s Award at IFSA in 1995.


Can you tell us how the trash compactor works? These highly reliable inflight trash compactors have logged millions of trouble-free flight hours on over 150 airlines worldwide. Monogram’s trash compactors allow flight crews to maintain a cleaner and safer working area. The Monogram Systems’ trash compactor features three compartmentalised bins that allow for inflight separation and later recycling on the ground. The system fits within a standard galley trolley and the hydraulic compactor can reduce rubbish 10:1. As the system works in the air this enables crew to reduce the number of trolleys and create valuable additional galley space. The units compact trash to one tenth its original


www.onboardhospitality.com 69


volume leading to a three to one volumetric efficiency. That is, three waste carts with uncompacted trash may be compacted and stored into one cart saving two cart spaces with each installed compactor.


What has been the airline response to the trash compactor?


The inflight trash compactors have logged millions of flight hours on over 150 airlines worldwide. Emirates and Japan Airlines have installed the compactor on all their wide-body aircraft. email: Thomas.Lee@zodiacaerospace.com www.monogramsystems.com www.zodiacaerospace.com


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