Sustainable biojet fuel first target of new Chinese research centre

Exploring sustainable aviation biofuels will be the first project by a newly opened airline technology centre in China.

The Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Centre is a collaborative effort to support commercial freight and passenger aviation growth by passenger aircraft manufacturers Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and multinational aerospace company Boeing.

Both companies announced that the Centre will first explore opportunities to refine waste cooking oil into sustainable aviation biofuel by identifying contaminants in the oil create processes that may treat and clean it for use as jet fuel.

‘Energy conservation and emission reduction is currently a focus of the global aviation sector and our collaboration with Boeing in this regard will have profound impacts in China as well as the world,’ COMAC VP Shi Jianzhong was quoted as saying.

‘We wish to construct the new centre as a demonstrative advanced technology centre and to make contributions to the development of the aviation industry in China and world with the concerted efforts of both sides.’

The Centre is based at the Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute and will also work with other China-based institutes and universities to help expand on research projects.