‘Gutter Oil’ will transform into Aviation Biofuel

‘Gutter Oil’ will transform into Aviation Biofuel :

Largest Aircraft Manufacturer, Boeing  and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) has launched a demonstration facility at China that will turn waste cooking oil, commonly referred to as “gutter oil”  into sustainable aviation biofuel. The two major companies has estimated that more than 500 million gallons (1.8 billion liters) of biofuel could be produced annually in China from used cooking oil.

“Strong and continuing teamwork between Boeing and COMAC is helping our industry make progress on environmental challenges that no single company or country can solve alone,” said Ian Thomas, President, Boeing China. “By working together for mutual benefit, we’re finding innovative ways to support China’s aviation industry and build a sustainable future.”

Boeing and COMAC are sponsoring the entire facility for research and development, which is called the China-U.S. Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project. It will be using the technology developed by Hangzhou Energy & Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. (HEET) for cleaning the contaminants from waste oils and convert it into usable and sustainable jet fuel at a rate of 160 gallons (650 liters) per day. The project’s goal is to assess the technical feasibility and cost of producing higher volumes of biofuel in the world. Everybody is aware that ATF is very limited and will exhaust in next 40-50 years. The number of aircraft are increasing at a very rapid rate in the world,hence the demand for fuel.

“We are very happy to see the progress that has been made in the collaboration between Boeing and COMAC, especially the achievement in aviation biofuel technology,” said Dr. Guangqiu Wang, Vice President of COMAC’s Beijing Aeronautical Science & Technology Research Institute. “We will continue to work with Boeing in energy conservation and emissions reduction areas to promote the sustainable development of the aviation industry.”

BioFuel reduces carbon emissions by 50 to 80 % as compared to petroleum through its life cycle.Biofuel is expected to play a major role in supporting aviation’s growth while meeting environmental goals. The Boeing forecast that China will require more than 6,000 new airplanes by 2033 to meet fast-growing passenger demand for domestic and international air travel.

Boeing and COMAC have been collaborating since 2012 to support the growth of China’s commercial aviation industry. Their Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center in Beijing works with Chinese universities and research institutions to expand knowledge in areas that improve aviation’s efficiency, such as aviation biofuel and air traffic management.

Biofuel produced by the China-U.S. Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project will meet international specifications approved in 2011 for jet fuel made from plant oils and animal fats. This type of biofuel has already been used for more than 1,600 commercial flights.

In the past also KLM has used biofuel for the aircraft. It flew from Amsterdam to Aruba and Bonaire.

It used Airbus 330-200 aircraft for the flight. The biofuel for this flight was sourced by ITAKA and supplied by SkyNRG. This marks another step forward on the journey to more sustainable aviation, by reducing CO2 emissions and fuel consumption through enhanced engine performance and utilising lighter, more efficient aircraft.