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China Eastern Airlines completed its first successful test flight of an aircraft powered by biofuel on Wednesday.

The company said it now plans to introduce biofuel for commercial flights to reduce carbon emissions, but it did not reveal a timetable.

"Biofuel-powered aircraft make our flights more environmentally friendly," said Captain Liu Zhimin, who piloted Wednesday's flight.

The jet, which used a palm oil biofuel made by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refinery, flew for 85 minutes after taking off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Liu said he performed several extreme maneuvers, including diving above 12,000 meters, but found no significant difference between the Sinopec biofuel and gasoline. The plane's left fuel tank was filled with gasoline to allow him to compare.

"The performance of the biofuel during the takeoff was powerful," the pilot added.

Sinopec is the first company in China to master the technology of turning palm oil and waste cooking oil into jet biofuel.

"We have developed two kinds of biofuel, palm oil and waste cooking oil, and the fuel we used during this flight was palm oil," said Huang Zhongwen, deputy director of publicity for Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co.

"We have the capability of turning waste cooking oil into jet fuel, although the cost will be higher than producing ordinary fuel," he said.

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