Aircraft fueled by waste cooking oil takes off from Beijing

Hainan Airlines Flight 497 took off from Beijing at 2:15 pm Tuesday, headed to Chicago. The aircraft flew with biological aviation fuel that is produced from waste cooking oil, signaling the first China-US flight to use green aviation fuel.

The flight on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner will arrive at Chicago O'Hare International Airport at 12:55 pm local time on Tuesday, after flying 11,297 kilometers.

The aviation kerosene made from restaurants' waste kitchen oil is produced at Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company, a subsidiary of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, based in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province.

Sinopec said the jet fuel from restaurants' waste kitchen oil will help to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and take better advantage of waste.

Sinopec spokesman Lyu Dapeng said the aviation biofuel had met stringent safety standards, and Sinopec will speed up the commercial application of the biofuel with the support of related parties.

In March 2015, Hainan Airlines made the first domestic flight with biological aviation fuel on a Boeing 737.