Air China completes its first biofuel demonstration flight

October 29, 2011 — Air China

Air China (Beijing), in partnership with Boeing, Honeywell UOP, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), PetroChina and Pratt & Whitney, on October 28 completed a demonstration flight using a sustainable biofuel derived from biomass grown in China.

Air China’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 94-inch engines, completed approximately a one hour flight. No modifications to the aircraft or engine were required for the biofuel, which is a “drop-in” replacement for petroleum-based fuel.

The fuel source for this test flight is derived from the jatropha plant supplied by PetroChina. With the technology of UOP, the crude oil of jatropha could be transformed into aviation biofuel. In order to meet the standard of GB6537 and ASTM D7566-11 simultaneously, China Aviation Oil mixed aviation biofuel with traditional aviation kerosene by a proportion of 50:50.

According to the airline, “the quality of aviation biofuel may meet or even surpass the current aviation oil standard. Aviation biofuel can work properly after being directly mixed with traditional fossil-fuel, neither aircraft nor engine needs to be refit, and neither storage nor transportation facility needs to be built or rebuilt. At present, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US has ratified the standard of ASTM D7566-11. Therefore, any mixed aviation biofuel according to this standard can be used on business flights immediately. With such advantage, aviation biofuel may replace traditional fossil-fuel. The great pressure brought by the oil shortage would be reduced if aviation biofuel was industrialized.”

Presently, the second-generation biofuels are mainly derived from jatropha, camelina, salt plant and microalgae. These non-food sources do not compete with food crops for land or water. Also, many aspects should be taken into account in the process of aviation biofuel development, such as biodiversity protection, regional economic development promotion and more employment opportunities. Therefore, many industries include carriers and energy suppliers, and aircraft and engine manufacturers are working together now to accelerate the development and industrialization of sustainable aviation biofuel.

Photo: Air China.

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