地沟油飞上天 变身航油?

Gutter oil, which previously sparked controversies in China when it was sold illegally back to restaurants, is now ready to power aircrafts.

Dirk Kronemeijer, managing director of SkyNRG, says his company plans to buy gutter oil from China, although no actual deal has been signed yet.

"We want to develop the market in China. China is a very interesting market for used cooking oil. In my country, 70 percent of used cooking oil has been collected, but in China, it's only 2 percent. Unlike cars, there is no possibility for an electric airplane or electric aircraft. The only option for aviation to become greener is to fly on sustainable fuels."

After gutter oil is recycled, it can be processed into biofuel, which is more environmentally friendly than regular fuel such as diesel.

Biofuel can also be turned into aviation fuel after deoxygenizing and further processing work. Aircraft powered by aviation standard biofuel produce 60 percent to 80 percent fewer emissions.

But the fuel does not come cheaply, as is explained by Zheng Dehua, deputy manager of Qingdao-based Fresh Bio-Energy Technology, a company in the bio-fuel trade.

"The cost of turning gutter oil into aviation fuel is very high, roughly between 18,000 and 20,000 yuan per ton, while common jet fuel is around 8,000 to 9,000 yuan a ton."

Kronemeijer agrees with Zheng in this regard, but he believes there is a market out there as the company has already delivered aviation standard biofuel to 20 airlines.

Currently, air travel is responsible for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions, and the European Union wants airlines to cut carbon emissions by 3 percent this year.

As for the domestic market, apart from the stunning costs, the other major obstacle for companies to produce biofuel is to collect gutter oil.

Liu Dehua, director of the Institute of Applied Chemistry at Tsinghua University, explains.

"The authorities have just started cracking down on the illegal collection of gutter oil. Previously, most energy companies could not get any gutter oil, as restaurants made a much higher profit by selling it to illegal collectors rather than energy companies."

Industry insiders say one ton of gutter oil can be sold to illegal collectors for 6,000 to 7,000 yuan per ton, while the legal standard for energy companies is 5,000 yuan a ton.

Zheng Dehua with Fresh Bio-Energy Technology believes that government support is the key to the further application of gutter oil in the energy sector.

"The government should clearly define who is responsible for collecting gutter oil. Also, it is important to prevent gutter oil from being sold back to restaurants. Apart from that, preferential policy from the government is necessary to encourage domestic companies to expand the use of aviation standard biofuel. Companies cannot afford to get into the field if they will lose so much in profit."

Kronemeijer of SkyNRG says his company is trying to set up partnerships with Chinese organizations, including China National Aviation Fuel, to provide local solutions on producing aviation standard biofuel.

For CRI, I'm Abhijan.