China achieves mass production of sustainable aviation fuel

A Chinese company has developed a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) which will soon enter the commercial market, according to Science and Technology Daily.

SAF is a new type of aviation fuel that blends bio-manufactured green jet fuel with traditional fuel. It has the potential to reduce carbon emissions over the fuel's life cycle by up to 80 percent, making it a viable alternative to green aviation energy.

The International Air Transport Association predicted that 65 percent of the carbon reduction in the aviation sector will be realized through the use of SAF by 2050. Various SAF technological breakthroughs will become a crucial pathway for the low-carbon transformation of the global aviation sector.

Therefore, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has taken SAF as the key focus for long-term energy saving and emission reduction, as well as achieving green development for the civil aviation industry. 

Junheng Biology, a private petrochemical enterprise located in central China's Henan Province, has successfully converted kitchen waste oils into biodiesel and SAF with self-developed green and low-carbon biofuel technology after five years of research and development, said Executive Director Zhang Zhenhui.

Junheng Biology is also China's first private enterprise to obtain SAF airworthiness approval by the CAAC. 

The enterprise took the lead in developing high acid-resistant and water-resistant catalysts as well as waste animal and vegetable oil hydrotreating technology. The related products were exported to the European Union, with the operating income exceeding 2.2 billion yuan (about $300 million) in 2023.

Globally, many oil enterprises worldwide are jumping on the SAF business bandwagon as well. They have carried out construction and operation of SAF projects in many regions around the world, indicating that SAF will become an indispensable part of the energy supply business of international oil conglomerates.

In April 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation was signed between the U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell and China's Tianjin Free Trade Zone to establish a flagship SAF production base in north China. The move aims to meet the growing market demand for SAF, said the U.S. company. 

(With input from Xinhua)