Bio fuel awaits commercial aviation debut

Beijing (CNS) -- On Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) officially accepted an application from China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) to adopt its biological aviation kerosene in commercial flights.

Once the application is granted, the eco-friendly fuel is set to support the progress of China's aviation industry.

The recyclable fuel is made from animal and plant oil and discharges less carbon dioxide than traditional fuel. The aviation companies of several other countries have been attempting to apply the new fuel to their commercial flights as well.

Sinopec provides 73 percent of China's domestic aviation kerosene. Its research and development on the production of low-carbon fuel from waste oil and seaweeds is still in process.

China now consumes 20 million tons of aviation fuel annually, revealed Li Jian, deputy director at the CAAC.

This consumption is likely to double by 2020. By then, aviation kerosene is predicted to take up about 30 percent of the total fuel supply, and create a market value of 120 billion yuan (about US$ 19 billion).