The first commercial flight of the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on December 15, 2017, in Melbourne, Australia.

(James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

At a Glance

A recent 15-hour Qantas flight from the U.S. to Australia was fueledby a mixture of 90 percent traditional jet fuel and 10 percent biofuel derived from mustard seeds.The mixture saved more than 40,000 pounds of carbon emissions, or 7 percent, compared to traditional jet fuel.But the flight needed nearly 150 acres' worth of mustard seeds.

Qantas Internationalmade history Tuesday when it became the world's first airline to successfully fly a biofueled plane between Australia and the United States.

The 15-hour flight that departed from Los Angeles Monday and landed Tuesday in Melbourne, Australia, was fueledby a mixture of 90 percent traditional jet fuel and 10 percent biofuel derived from mustard seeds.

According to a Qantas press release, the Dreamliner 787-9 was powered by produced from Brassica Carinata, a non-food, industrial type of mustard seed. The seeds were developed by Canada-based agricultural-technology companyAgrisoma Biosciences (Agrisoma).

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The mixture saved more than 40,000 pounds of carbon emissions, or 7 percent, compared to traditional jet fuel, Qantas noted.

The mixture does come witha possible secondary cost to the environment: it took nearly 150 acres of mustard seeds – roughly the size ofVatican City – to powerone flight.

Qantas International CEO Alison Webster said the airline's new Dreamliner 787-9, which was inaugurated in December 2017, will showcase the future of sustainable aviation.

"The Qantas Dreamliner marks an exciting new era of innovation and travel," said Websterin the press release. "The aircraft is more fuel-efficient and generates fewer greenhouse emissions than similarly sized aircraft and today's flight will see a further reduction on this route."

According to the press release,Carinata-derived biofuel can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 percent compared to traditional jet fuel.

The airline company has been doing trials on biofuel-powered flights since 2012.

In the U.S., between Los Angeles and San Francisco in March 2016. United used a mixture of 70 percent traditional jet fuel and 30 percent biofuel, which reduced carbon emissions by up to 60 percent.

The , this time derived from a mixture of babassu nuts and coconuts, took off from London's Heathrow airport in February 2008,BBC.com reported, adding that commercial flights have been able to use biofuels since 2011.