Boeing-COMAC Technology Center announces first biofuel research project

A newly formed technology center created by Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) has announced that Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology (HEET) will 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).