China
started commercial use of aviation biofuel on Wednesday, in a bid to ease fuel
pressure and cut carbon emissions.
China's top
oil refiner, Sinopec, was given a license allowing commercial use of its
aviation biofuel, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The license,
the first of its kind, permits Sinopec's No. 1 Aviation Biofuel to be used by
airlines, some of which have showed willingness to cooperate with the refiner.
Xu Chaoqun,
deputy head of CAAC's Flight Criteria Department, said the development is a
significant breakthrough for research, production and use of aviation biofuel.
The development also makes China the fourth country in the world to produce
aviation biofuel, after the United States, France and Finland.
Sinopec
started research on aviation biofuel in 2009, and its application for
commercial use was accepted by CAAC in early 2012. Last April, a test flight in
Shanghai powered by the biofuel was a success, and the fuel went through
several rounds of more strict tests before it was given the green light.
Sinopec can
produce 3,000 tonnes of such oil a year, from materials like rape seed, cotton
seed and wasted cooking oil. The refiner is also considering joining with
private enterprise in planting, collecting and processing materials, after working
with McDonald's to collect cooking oil.
"Aviation
biofuel is one of the major trends in global aviation," said Xu.
"With our research on aviation biofuel, we have built a set of
technological standards, and will have a bigger say in international carbon
emission reduction." Research shows that carbon dioxide generated by
biofuel is 45% or less than that produced by conventional fuel.
The
International Air Transport Association forecast that 30% of aviation fuel will
be biofuel by 2020, and a few western airlines have been testing commercial
flights with biofuel since 2008.
China is
the world's largest oil importer and 58.1% of its 2013 supply relied on
imports.
With an
annual consumption of nearly 20 million tonnes, China has become the second
largest aviation fuel consumer and demand is estimated to be expanding by 10%
every year, while the global average is less than 5%. By contrast, the country
has abundant biofuel-refining resources: vast areas of oil-rich plants and a
huge amount of wasted cooking oil. However, analysts said there may be a long
way to go until large-scale application of aviation biofuel due to costs.
Xu Hui,
vice director of Sinopec's Science and Technology Department, said the
production costs of aviation biofuel are two to three times those of crude oil.
He said some three tonnes of wasted cooking oil can generate one tonne of
biofuel, and collecting cooking waste suitable for refining is expensive.
Refiners
and airlines have to split the cost, and the final price will be determined by
the market based on emission-cutting efforts and an application scale,
according to Xu with Sinopec.
"The
most important thing for now is to diversify biofuel sources and upgrade
technology," said CAAC's Xu.
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