China's commercial aircraft complete demo flights with sustainable fuel

SHANGHAI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- An ARJ21 regional aircraft and C919 passenger aircraft completed their first demonstration flights with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Shanghai and Dongying, respectively, on Wednesday, according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC).

The demonstration flights showed the sound flight performance of the Chinese commercial aircraft, the COMAC said.

SAF is a liquid aviation fuel alternative to traditional jet fuel. Made from renewable materials, it can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 percent over the fuel's life cycle compared to conventional jet fuel.

The application of SAF is an important measure for the global civil aviation industry to deal with global warming and reduce carbon emissions.

So far, a number of Chinese airlines have conducted commercial test flights using China-made SAF, with a dozen domestic enterprises and institutes working on the research, development and production of SAF.

Making full use of green resources, the SAF used in the demonstration flights is made from waste oil from meals, according to the COMAC. The oil is recycled and processed in China's first bio-aviation fuel industrial plant built by Sinopec, before it is transformed into bio-jet fuel.

The SAF made by COMAC was granted airworthiness approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in February this year, the company added.