Airbus looking to produce biofuel for airplanes out of cooking oil

Aviation manufacturer Airbus has joined forces with the Tsinghua University in China on a scheme which aims to turn waste cooking oil into biofuel for airplanes.

The project will look into how biofuels can be produced and promoted in China, the world’s fastest growing aviation market.

Phase one will see suitable feedstocks being accessed based on their ability to comply with economic, ecological and social sustainability criteria.
                                                               
As part of the second stage, the partners will narrow down what are the fuel solutions with the most potential for providing an alternative to traditional petrol.

This will include tests being conducted the viability of using waste cooking oil and a full sustainability analysis is expected to have been completed by the early part of next year.
They will also look at how they can scale up alternative fuel production processes so that sustainable quantities of aviation fuel can be produced for commercial use.

"The commercialisation of alternative fuels is one of the essential ingredients in our quest to achieving ambitious environmental targets in aviation," said Frederic Eychenne, Airbus New Energies programme manager.

"The project will 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," added Project manager, professor Zhang Xiliang, director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at Tsinghua University.

In June this year, Air Canada ran a successful test flight using fuel which was 50 per cent made from cooking oil.

The airline said the flight, which flew from Toronto to Mexico City, produced 40 per cent less carbon emissions than it would have done if powered on traditional jet fuel.

It is planning on similar flights in the future as it attempts to reduce its impact on the environment.