Chinese Airline CA1027 Uses Bio Aviation Fuel For First time

According to China Petrochemical Corp., the first commercial cargo flight on the Chinese mainland using sustainable aviation fuel has successfully completed its maiden flight.

Chinese Airline CA1027 Uses Bio Aviation Fuel For First time

Air China Flight CA1027 successfully took off from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and arrived at Liege Airport in Belgium on December 15. According to the company, it used bio-aviation fuel produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery, a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corp.

According to China Petrochemical Corp., the first commercial cargo flight on the Chinese mainland using sustainable aviation fuel has successfully completed its maiden flight.

The subsidiary received a bio-jet fuel airworthiness certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on September 19, marking the first time that large-scalely produced bio-jet fuel will serve the aviation industry in China.

Bio-jet fuel, which cuts emissions of carbon dioxide by more than half over its whole life cycle, has gained momentum against the backdrop of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals within the country in recent years. Zhenhai Refining promises to further expand the market and supply chains in order to gain access to international markets in the future.

Following the United States, France, and Finland, China has become the fourth country with independent research and development production technology for bio-jet fuel.

Since 2011, Sinopec has completed four flight test trials using bio-jet fuel, including the nation’s first cross-oceanic flight powered by green aviation fuel in 2017, when a Hainan Airlines flight from Beijing to Chicago carried 186 passengers and 15 crew members over an 11,297-kilometer distance.

Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical sells its products both in China and around the world. Clean gasoline, premium diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, paving asphalt, and other petrochemical products are produced, processed, and marketed by the company.

Bio-jet fuel is a synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) derived from biomass that is blended with conventionally petroleum-derived jet fuel.  It is also known as bio-jet fuel, renewable jet fuel, or aviation biofuel in some publications or BAF, a type of biofuel for the air transport sector, is recognized as a short- to medium-term solution toward reducing the sector’s GHG emissions.