<p>This new tobacco plant will sure make smoke but the kind that comes from the exhaust of an aeroplane.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Boeing and South African Airways (SAA) are collaborating to make sustainable aviation bio-fuel from a new type of tobacco plant.<br /><br />Known as solaris, the hybrid plant is a nicotine-free alternative to traditional tobacco.<br />Test farming has started in South Africa and bio-fuel production is expected in the next few years, said a Boeing press release.<br /><br />Initially, oil from the the plant's seeds will be converted into jet fuel.<br />As newer technologies develop, the rest of the the plant will also be used to make aviation bio-fuel.<br /><br />"By using hybrid tobacco, we can leverage knowledge of tobacco growers in South Africa to grow a marketable bio-fuel crop without encouraging smoking," Ian Cruickshank, a specialist with SAA's group environmental affairs, said.<br /><br />In October 2013, Boeing and SAA had announced they would work together to develop a sustainable aviation bio-fuel in southern Africa.</p>
<p>This new tobacco plant will sure make smoke but the kind that comes from the exhaust of an aeroplane.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Boeing and South African Airways (SAA) are collaborating to make sustainable aviation bio-fuel from a new type of tobacco plant.<br /><br />Known as solaris, the hybrid plant is a nicotine-free alternative to traditional tobacco.<br />Test farming has started in South Africa and bio-fuel production is expected in the next few years, said a Boeing press release.<br /><br />Initially, oil from the the plant's seeds will be converted into jet fuel.<br />As newer technologies develop, the rest of the the plant will also be used to make aviation bio-fuel.<br /><br />"By using hybrid tobacco, we can leverage knowledge of tobacco growers in South Africa to grow a marketable bio-fuel crop without encouraging smoking," Ian Cruickshank, a specialist with SAA's group environmental affairs, said.<br /><br />In October 2013, Boeing and SAA had announced they would work together to develop a sustainable aviation bio-fuel in southern Africa.</p>