The research project is starting up with six open-air aquaculture (fish ponds) farms, eight halophyte fields and four mangrove swamps.

A game-changing project to produce aviation fuel from plants without using fresh water or arable land has been launched in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City on Sunday.

A first worldwide, the project pumps water from the sea into fish ponds - water which is naturally enriched with nutrients from the fish's waste- and then used to irrigate halophyte fields, a plant rich in oil that is ideal for biofuel. What is left over from irrigation is then transferred to mangrove swamps, where the water is purified by the mangroves' roots before it is recycled back to the fish ponds.

The facility, operated by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, is funded by the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), a group advancing the aviation industry's commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by developing clean, sustainable fuel.

How the project works * Water is pumped from the sea into fish ponds * This water is naturally enriched with nutrients from the fish's waste * The water is used to irrigate halophyte fields, a plant rich in oil that is ideal for biofuel * What is left over from irrigation is transferred to mangrove swamps, where the water is purified by the mangroves' roots before it is recycled back to the fish ponds

"This is a global shift for biofuel. It is groundbreaking," said Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, a member of the SBRC. "This year, the aviation industry will use 600 million gallons of biofuels, which is just one per cent of all aviation fuel. We need to scale this up."

With over 100,000 flights per day, lower carbon fuel for the aviation industry has become a serious concern.

A massive source of carbon emissions that triggers climate change, aviation fuel can be replaced with biofuel produced from oily plants, but so far the big argument against that was that these plants "eat up" valuable arable land needed to grow food for the rapidly increasing world population.

The Masdar City facility is changing the fuel or food global quest into food and fuel solution.

"This is a research facility, which we will operate for three years," said Alejandro Rios, SBRC director and professor at Masdar Institute.

"A one-hectare plantation means approximately two tonnes of plant seeds, which can produce around 700 litres of biofuel. But this is a wild plant and the yields will vary," he told Khaleej Times.

The research project is starting up with six open-air aquaculture (fish ponds) farms, covering a total area of 1,277 square metres, eight halophyte fields and four mangrove swamps. For now, the aquaculture ponds will have Indian white shrimp and tilapia fish, but in the future, more commercial fish will be used.

silvia@khaleejtimes.com