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23 November 2017 – Hainan Airlines conducted China’s first transoceanic flight powered by biofuels on 21 November. The Boeing 787 flight carried 186 passengers and 15 crew members from Beijing to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, covering a distance of 11,297 kilometers over 11 hours and 41 minutes. An alternative jet fuel (AJF) blend comprised of 15% hydroprocessed waste cooking oil and 85% conventional aviation fuel powered the flight.
The AJF blend was supplied to Hainan Airlines by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. The blend’s renewable fuel component was sourced from restaurant waste cooking oil and produced at Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co, a subsidiary of Sinopec based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. Xu Chaoqun, head of the airworthiness certification department at the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), said biofuels use is an important development in the global aviation fuel market. "It's critical to develop green alternative energy, and push forward the R&D and application of biofuel with independent intellectual property rights. The biofuel developed by Sinopec is the first such aviation fuel that has been approved by the CAAC.", Chaogun said. Sinopec spokesman Lyu Dapeng said the AJF had met stringent safety standards, and Sinopec will speed up its commercial application with the support of supply chain partners. Read China Daily’s article on China’s first transoceanic flight flown on AJF here.
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