Duo open aviation biofuel demo plant

Airline Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (CACC) has opened a biofuels demonstration plant that will turn waste cooking oil, or gutter oil as it known in China, into sustainable aviation biofuel.

The plant has a production capacity of 160 gallons per day and estimates suggest that 1.8 billion litres of aviation fuel may be produced per year in China from gutter oil.

Hangzhou Energy & Engineering Technology developed the facility's technology, which cleans contaminants from waste oils and convert it into jet fuel at a rate of 160 gallons per day, and is part of the China-US Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project.

The Boeing Current Market Outlook predicts China will need more than 6,000 new airplanes by 2033 to meet rapidly-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.