Airbus and Boeing collaborating with Chinese on aviation biofuels – using “gutter oil”

Airbus has joined forces with China’s Tsinghua University to promote the production and use of aviation biofuel in China. They will look at a wide range of feedstocks, including used cooking oil, that might (?) otherwise be wasted, and also algae. The full sustainability analysis should be completed by the beginning of 2013. It hopes to produce useful quantities of aviation fuel for commercial use. In August, Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) opened a joint technology center in Beijing dedicated to aviation fuel and emissions. They say China annually consumes approximately 29 million tons of cooking oil, while its aviation system uses 20 million tons of jet fuel.  There is a lot of dirty “gutter oil” from restaurants, which has been illicitly re-used in food. There are forecasts that  passenger traffic in China will surpass 300 million this year and will reach 1.5 billion passengers by 2030.



 

Airbus partners with Chinese on aviation biofuels

By Anne Paylor

September 13, 2012  (ATW)

Airbus has joined forces with China’s Tsinghua University to promote the production and use of aviation biofuel in China.

The  partners will initially conduct a sustainability analysis of Chinese feedstocks, assessing compliance with ecological, economic and social sustainability criteria. This will include a wide range of feedstocks, including used cooking oil, that would otherwise be wasted, and also algae.

The sustainability analysis is being managed by Airbus and involves close collaboration with Tsinghua and leading European institutions. The first results will be analyzed later this year and the full sustainability analysis should be completed by the beginning of 2013. It will evaluate how best to support development of processes that speed up the commercialisation of aviation biofuels and identify the most promising alternative fuel solutions.

Airbus new energies program manager Frédéric Eychenne said the commercialisation of alternative fuels “is one of the essential ingredients in our quest to achieving ambitious environmental targets in aviation.”

From 2013 onwards, the partners will look at scaling-up alternative fuel production to achieve sustainable quantities of aviation fuel for commercial use.

Project manager Zhang Xiliang, director of  the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at Tsinghua University said the project would “help us improve the understanding of the nature of aviation biofuels commercialisation in China, identify the opportunities and challenges, and evaluate the possibility of social, economic, market and technology change and its cost, obstacles and challenges. ”

The partnership agreement is one of several Airbus initiatives to develop a complete sustainable aviation biofuel production capability in China, using only sustainable resources.

In August, Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China opened a joint technology center in Beijing dedicated to commercial aviation energy and emissions research projects.

(ATWEco-Aviation Newsletter, Aug. 21).

http://atwonline.com/eco-aviation/article/airbus-partners-chinese-aviation-biofuels-0913?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AtwDailyNews+%28ATW+Daily+News%29

 

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Boeing-COMAC technology center opens

By Karen Walker  (ATW)

August 21, 2012

Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) have opened a joint technology center in Beijing dedicated to commercial aviation energy and emissions research projects.

The Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center’s project will explore opportunities to refine waste cooking oil into sustainable aviation biofuel. Research will focus on identifying contaminants in so-called “gutter oil” [produced from recycled cooking oil, frying grease and sewage, and which has frequently been resold illegally for use in restaurants and food stands ] and processes that could treat and clean it for use as jet fuel.

“Waste cooking oil shows potential 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 ways to convert discarded “gutter oil” into jet fuel could enhance regional biofuel supplies and improve biofuel’s affordability,” the companies said in a statement.

Funded by both companies, the technology center enter 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. It is located in COMAC’s new Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute.

“The new Boeing-COMAC Technology Center reflects our companies’ mutual commitment to make progress on industry challenges, such as the need to reduce carbon emissions. These industry issues cannot be solved by one company alone,” Boeing China president Marc Allen said.

http://atwonline.com/eco-aviation/article/boeing-comac-technology-center-opens-0821

 

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Boeing Aims to Turn Cooking Oil Waste into Aviation Biofuel in China

AUGUST 20, 2012 (Clean Technica)

Boeing, one of the world’s largest aviation companies, is teaming up with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in a bid to increase aviation biofuels in the emerging market country.

According to a recent article from Waste Management World, both companies will fund the project. The co-venture will be located in the COMAC Beijing Aeronautical Science & Technology Research Institute (BASTRI). The project will look at treating cooking oil and making it into a valuable aviation biofuel.

The centre will also look at advancing aviation biofuels and efficiency through air traffic management. It is all in a bid to expand the ever-growing need for China’s aviation market, while making it more environmentally sustainable.

Consider some interesting facts from the Waste Management World article regarding China’s ferocious appetite for flying:

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has forecast that passenger traffic in China will surpass 300 million this year and will reach 1.5 billion passengers by 2030.

Boeing said that it estimated that Chinese airlines will need to buy 5,000 new airplanes by 2030 to meet the extraordinary demand.

While there has often been criticism about flying’s big footprint, the importance of creating aviation biofuels will be the ultimate test of environmental sustainability in a globalized economy.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/20/boeing-aims-to-turn-cooking-oil-waste-into-aviation-biofuel-in-china/

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Shanghai tycoon aims to turn ‘gutter oil’ into jet fuel

 

    • Staff Reporter  (Want China Times)

17 .7.2012

Employees from Shanghai Luming collect used oil to turn into airplane fuel. (Photo courtesy of Luming)Employees from Shanghai Luming collect used oil to turn into airplane fuel. (Photo courtesy of Luming)

Chinese businessman and industrialist Ye Zhenyao has grabbed public interest after it was announced that one of his companies may soon turn the “gutter oil” that has been at the center of food scandals in the country into airplane fuel.

Ye’s Shanghai Luming Environmental Technology is handling the treatment of gutter oil, which is produced from recycled cooking oil, frying grease and sewage, and which has frequently been resold illegally for use in restaurants and food stands across the country. The company has been searching for ways to process the used oil into biodiesel and use it as an alternative fuel source.

Ye told the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald that his company is capable of processing used cooking oil into biodiesel. But it is still working on research as it needs two further technical levels to upgrade the product into aviation-grade fuel, he said.

Yet Ye added that his company has secured a business contract to supply biodiesel to Holland’s SkyNGR Group, which has found ways to further process the biodiesel, becoming the world’s leading supplier of sustainable aviation fuel.

The Chinese firm has been losing money on the biodiesel project for seven consecutive years. The losses have only been offset by an affiliate’s profits, as well as government subsidies for handling waste disposal and treatment operations in Shanghai.

To continue the biodiesel project, Ye invited a new investor, the Hangzhou-based Authority Asset Management, to inject funds in return for a 51% stake, cutting his own share to 49%. It was Fan Bin, chairman of Authority Asset Management, who struck a deal in April to ship semi-processed biodiesel to SkyNGR.

But the picture is still murky. Executives at SkyNGR revealed that no deal has been reached with any Chinese firms and that only letters of intent have been signed.

SkyNRG was founded in 2009 jointly by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the North Sea Group and Spring Associates. KLM is among the airlines that have been using the biofuel supplied by the company.

Sources at Shanghai Luming said the company aims to reach an agreement with SkyNGR on technological cooperation.

Shanghai Luming and Shanghai Sinogas Environmental Technology are the only two companies authorized by the Shanghai government to collect used cooking oil from restaurants in the city. But Shanghai Sinogas, a joint venture between Japanese and local investors, is also operating at a loss. Both companies have been operating at only half capacity, making people wonder where the unused portion of the waste oil they collect ends up.

Ye said more details and concrete information concerning the SkyNGR deal and the processing operations of the waste cooking oil will be revealed later.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120717000006&cid=1502

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China’s jet biofuels: ready for take off?

August 21, 2012  (Financial Times)

China consumes about 29m tonnes of cooking oil a year, and much of it, when the frying is over, gets thrown away.

Boeing believes this “gutter oil”, as it is locally known, could turn out to be liquid gold. In collaboration with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) it has opened a new lab this month in Beijing, and the first research project will investigate refining waste cooking oil into jet fuel.

Along with research into more efficient air traffic management systems, Boeing claims the work carried out in the Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Centre at COMAC’s new Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute, could significantly reduce the aviation industry’s carbon intensity.

While China’s cooking oil consumption is 29m tonnes, its aviation industry uses 20 million tonnes of petroleum-based jet fuel. The cooking oil thus represents, Boeing and COMAC say, a major opportunity for an alternative fuel source.

COMAC, a state owned company mandated to plan and implement passenger aviation programmes in China, also hopes to become an independent manufacturer of “large Chinese passenger aircraft that will soon be soaring through the blue skies”. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace manufacturer, has its sights set on the rapidly expanding Chinese market. The company told beyondbrics,

China is Boeing’s largest international market and COMAC’s home market. Although our companies compete as aircraft manufacturers, we want to partner with a key Chinese stakeholder to expand opportunities for commercial aviation in China and elsewhere. COMAC has unique capabilities and insights that make it a valuable partner.

Boeing has been experimenting with biofuel powered planes since 2008, and ran a test flight of a jatropha-blend powered 747 from Beijing last year, following research undertaken in China. Jatropha is a non-edible plant extensively used for biofuels.

In its 2011 environmental report the company states that it is pursuing research into fuels derived from algae, salt water grasses and oilseeds which it claims ”do not compete with food crops for land or water” – a source of controversy which has dogged the expansion of the biofuels industry elsewhere.

The new venture into gutter oil runs along these lines and targets the Chinese market specifically. While the refining costs at present  make it uncompetitive with conventional fuels, Boeing have claimed it could reach a marketable price in less than 10 years.

Shi Jianzhong, COMAC’s vice president, described energy efficiency as the “hotspot and focus of the global aviation sector”.

Dong Yang Wu, vice president of Boeing Research & Technology in China, said ”We are excited about opportunities to partner with world-class research capabilities in China in ways that will accelerate the global push for renewable jet fuels and support commercial aviation’s growth while reducing its environmental footprint”.

The latter of these goals will be a challenge. The Civil Aviation Administration of China expects that airline passenger numbers in China will surpass 300 million this year, and rise to around 1.5 billion passengers in 2030. Last year the Chinese government announced it would be building a further 56 airports within five years.

That represents a fast-growing market which Boeing is no doubt keen to position itself in, but it also represents a lot more carbon in the atmosphere.

And recent events suggest that China’s airlines are in no hurry to start cutting their carbon footprint, having argued with European regulators for an exemption from new carbon taxes on carriers taking off or landing in the EU, sparking fears of a carbon trade war.

However, according to reports in the Chinese state media, the increased use of biofuels could provide a way for Chinese airlines to avoid having to pay at a portion of the EU’s aviation carbon taxes. Limiting exposure to global oil markets is also doubtless an additional incentive, after rising fuel costs dented Chinese carriers’ profits in the first half of this year.

In February the Civil Aviation Authority said they expected 30% of China’s jet fuel to come from biofuels by 2020.

Boeing and COMAC aren’t the first to spot the aviation biofuels opportunity. European airlines have already run flights using cooking oil-derived fuel. Earlier in the month, Sinopec Group, China’s biggest oil company, announced it had the capacity to create 20,000 tons of the fuel per year. A drop in the ocean perhaps, but one that looks set to get bigger.

Related reading:
Chinese airlines: big opportunities at home and abroad, FT
China: powered by corn cobs? beyondbrics
China: the next must-have – private jets, beyondbric