China’s First Large-Scale Production of Bio-jet Fuel

Bio-jet fuel is derived from used cooking oil, and will be used for flights across China. The first batch will be shipped to the Airbus (China) Tianjin plant this month.This will mark the first time that large-scale produced bio-jet fuel will serve the aviation industry in China.

Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (HKG: 0386,Sinopec) obtained a bio-jet fuel airworthiness certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on September 19 (2022). The airworthiness certificate means that Sinopec can sell the bio-jet fuel produced at Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery to aviation operators nationwide.

The refinery, in the Zhenhai District of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, has an annual designed processing capacity of 100,000 tons and adopts Sinopec’s bio-jet fuel production technology (SRJET) to produce the fuel. The plant’s first batch in June produced around 600 tons of bio-jet fuel.

Mo Dingge, CEO of Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery, stated “with the airworthiness certificate, Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery can now sell bio-jet fuel to the entire civil aviation market, we will continue to expand the market and supply chain to build a full industry chain of bio-jet fuel.”

In order to obtain the certification the refinery had to undergo stringent on-site evaluations that covered all stages of operation, including the bio-jet fuel quality management system, production process management and control, product storage and transportation,sample analysis and testing.

The refinery has already obtained Asia’s first global RSB sustainable aviation fuel certification issued by Scientific Certification Systems, a key pass for China’s bio-jet fuel to enter the international market.

Bio-jet fuel can reduce carbon emissions by up to 50 percent throughout the entire lifecycle compared to traditional petroleum-based aviation kerosene.

Sinopec is committed to advancing the development of China’s bio-jet fuel industry. It developed its SRJET technology in 2009 and produced bio-jet fuel in December 2011 that was successfully tested in flight at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport in April 2013. After two years of evaluation, experts confirmed Sinopec’s bio-jet fuel as suitable for operation in aviation, and the company obtained China’s first airworthiness certification for bio-jet fuel in 2014.

Photo: PRNewsfoto/SINOPEC