Using used cooking oil in airplanes? Amazing, my country! What else can’t you do?

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In recent years, \"recycled cooking oil\" has become a hot topic; from time to time there are news reports about unscrupulous sellers using such oil to deceive consumers. Every time the editor of Chain Technology reads such news, anger burns within them – they truly despise recycled cooking oil and wish to beat up those unscrupulous sellers, but since we live in a society governed by the law, such desires are impossible to fulfill. Recently, the editors at Chain Technology heard that \"used cooking oil\" made it into the news headlines once again, but this time it was because of something good that was done! In the early hours of November 22nd, Hainan Airlines flight HU497, traveling from Beijing to Chicago, successfully landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport after a flight duration of nearly 12 hours. What seemed like an ordinary flight actually had great significance. During this flight, the staff mixed a certain proportion of \"gutter oil\" into the aviation fuel used by the aircraft; more specifically, it was bio-aircraft kerosene made from gutter oil through processing. This is the first time in our country that a flight using \"grease-based aviation fuel\" has taken place across the ocean, marking further progress in our country’s research in the field of bioaviation fuel. 　　 　　It is reported that the bio-aircraft kerosene used on flight HU497 comes from Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Plant. Researchers carried out two steps of petrochemical reactions and separation on used cooking oil to produce bio-aircraft kerosene that can be used as aircraft fuel. According to relevant officials, although Flight HU497 used biojet fuel during this flight, its performance was no different from usual, and it was able to operate smoothly and efficiently even at its maximum flight altitude of 12,497 meters. 　　According to the editors at Chain Technology, this flight of HU497 is not the first time that China has used waste cooking oil as fuel in flights. In April 2013, an Air China A320 aircraft fueled with recycled cooking oil successfully completed a test flight lasting nearly one and a half hours at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. This was the first technical validation flight in China to use biojet fuel with independent intellectual property rights. In March 2015, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft fueled with biojet fuel took off from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and landed smoothly at Beijing Capital Airport, marking the first use of recycled cooking oil as fuel in domestic commercial flights. 　　 　　Although there are no longer any technical obstacles to processing and refining used cooking oil as fuel, its widespread adoption will still take some time, primarily due to constraints in recycling and sales. It is reported that at present, the used cooking oil in China mainly comes from restaurants and slaughterhouses, with restaurants accounting for the majority. However, collecting used cooking oil from restaurants not only results in limited quantities, but sometimes the mixture of impurities in such oil is too high, which reduces the oil extraction rate. Furthermore, the limited post-sale channels for used cooking oil fuel in the domestic market today also hinder its widespread adoption. 　　 　　In addition to being affected by factors related to recycling and sales, the use of used cooking oil as fuel has also faced resistance from environmentalists. In the view of environmentalists, the production process of waste oil fuel competes with food and fresh water resources for limited resources, ultimately leading to environmental damage. However, the editor of Chain Technology believes that although there is some validity to what environmentalists say, he still favors the use of waste oil as fuel. Firstly, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions during airplane flights; secondly, this renewable energy source has the potential to gradually replace petroleum, which not only helps conserve oil resources but also allows humanity to reduce its dependence on oil. Of course, this is the personal opinion of the editor from Chain Technology; as for whether waste oil fuel will continue to be promoted, further professional evaluation is needed. Using used cooking oil in airplanes? Amazing, my country! What else can’t you do?