Chinese Airline to Use Biofuel for Its Commercial Flights

June 10, 2013- China Eastern Airlines announced it will start operating commercial flights that run on 100 percent biofuel. The airliner recently completed a successful trial of the renewable aviation fuel.

After an 85-minute test flight, the Airbus A320 landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and reported no problems or noticeable differences from traditional aviation fuel. The Airbus A320 ran on a biofuel made from a blend of palm oil and recycled cooking oil by Sinopec. 

They “have developed two kinds of biofuel -- palm oil and waste cooking oil -- and the fuel we used during this flight was palm oil,” said Huang Zhongwen, the deputy director of publicity at Zinopec. “We have the capability of turning waste cooking oil into jet fuel, although the cost will be higher than producing ordinary fuel.”

Biofuels have become increasingly popular in the airline industry as a way to counter rising oil prices and to reduce carbon emissions. In 2011, Air China demonstrated the use of a biofuel produced entirely from the jatropha plant; and other major airlines, such as KLM, Lufthansa, BA, and United Airlines, have also carried out their own experiments with a variety of biofuels.

Last month, the White House extended a program that supports the production of one billion gallons of aviation biofuel by 2018.

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