A Chinese airline on Saturday completed the country’s first commercial flight using biofuel, made from waste cooking oil, as the government seeks to promote greater environmental sustainability. A Hainan Airlines flight from commercial hub Shanghai to Beijing used biofuel supplied by China National Aviation Fuel company and energy giant Sinopec, according to a statement from US aircraft giant Boeing. The Boeing 737 plane used a 50-50 mix of conventional jet fuel and biofuel made from “waste cooking oil collected from restaurants in China,” it said. Used cooking oil, called “gutter oil” in Chinese, has been the target of media exposes about how the waste product is sometimes illegally reused for human consumption. Sinopec, which was criticised in the Chinese environmental documentary “Under the Dome”, said waste oil could be put to better use.

Source: The Guardian June 21, 2024 20:00 UTC