Gutter oil fuels test flight

By Jiang Yabin Source:Global Times Published: 2013-4-24 23:43:02

 

A worker prepares to fill up a China Eastern Airlines jet with biofuel Wednesday for a test flight at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. The fuel was developed from recycled cooking oil and palm oil. Photo: Yang Hui/GT
A worker prepares to fill up a China Eastern Airlines jet with biofuel Wednesday for a test flight at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. The fuel was developed from recycled cooking oil and palm oil. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

 

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) ran a test flight Wednesday from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to test out a new jet biofuel it has developed, local media reported.

The 150-seat Airbus A320 that was used for the flight flew for 85 minutes before landing back at the airport, according to a report on the news website xinmin.cn.

The fuel was developed from recycled cooking oil and palm oil as part of a joint project between Sinopec, China National Aviation Fuel Corp and China Eastern Airlines, which owned the Airbus A320 used in the test flight.

China Eastern Airlines will promote the use of the biofuel after it receives approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The biofuel was produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co in Zhejiang Province, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

China is the fourth country in the world that can produce aero biofuel, following the US, France and Finland.

"Using biofuel can reduce costs and cut emissions of greenhouse gases," said Yu Lijun, vice director of the Energy Research Institute at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

However, biofuel is less efficient than regular fuel, Yu said.

This biofuel can also be used in trucks, but it will take a long time before it will become widely used, Yu said.



Posted in: Society, Metro Shanghai

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