HEET to conduct first Boeing-COMAC Technology Center aviation biofuel research project focused on waste cooking oil

23 October 2012

The technology center created by Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) (earlier post) has selected that Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology, Co., Ltd., (HEET) to conduct the center’s first research project. HEET, a company with experience developing alternative energy technologies, will focus on ways to convert discarded cooking oil into a component of sustainable aviation biofuel at the Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center.

The project aims to identify contaminants in waste cooking oil, which often is described in China as “gutter oil,” and processes that may treat and clean it for use as jet fuel. The focus of the project for the first year will be to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving significant cost reduction in converting gutter oils and other waste oils into jet fuel through improvement of conversion efficiency and associated technology.

The Boeing-COMAC technology center is working with China-based universities and research institutions to expand knowledge in areas such as sustainable aviation biofuels and air traffic management that improve commercial aviation's efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Funded by both companies, the center opened in August at COMAC’s new Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute (BASTRI).

Waste cooking oil shows potential as a feedstock for sustainable aviation biofuel production and an alternative to petroleum-based fuel because China annually consumes approximately 29 million tons of cooking oil, while its aviation system uses 20 million tons of jet fuel. Finding more efficient ways to convert “gutter oil” into jet fuel could increase regional biofuel supplies and improve biofuel’s affordability, enhancing the potential for commercial use.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) is a state-owned company, which is formed with the approval of the State Council and jointly invested by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, Shanghai Guosheng (Group) Co., Ltd., Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China Aluminum Corporation (CHINALCO), Baosteel Group, and Sinochem Group. COMAC was held on May 11th, 2008. COMAC is headquartered in Shanghai.

COMAC functions as the main vehicle in implementing large passenger aircraft programs in China. It is also mandated with the overall planning of developing trunk liner and regional jet programs and realizing the industrialization of civil aircraft in China.