A Chinese refiner has been given the green light to commercially use its self-developed aviation biofuel.

It was granted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the first of its kind, to China Petrochemical (Sinopec), which means the firm’s No. 1 Aviation Biofuel can be used by airlines.
Several rounds of testing were conducted before it was granted the license.

The company will now work to diversify biofuel sources, lower production costs and push forward commercial application of the fuel, the CAAC said.

Biofuel is made from renewable resources which includes plant seeds, animal fat and recycled cooking oil and is said to generate less carbon emissions than conventional fuel.