COFCO pushes fuel ethanol production
April 28, 2011 Category Alternative energy, Environment
China should boost its fuel ethanol industry as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and oil dependency, Yue Guojun, Assistant President of the China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO) said. Last week, the National Biofuel Research and Development Center was established in Zhaodong, Heilongjiang province, the headquarters of COFCO’s biofuel and bio-energy subsidiary developing cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from biomass such as corn stalks and perennial grasses. Yue said the development of fuel ethanol will not affect China’s food supply because no more than 4 million tons of crops will be used for producing it, less than 1% of China’s total crop harvest each year. COFCO is also trying to master the technology to produce second-generation ethanol from corn stalks, perennial grasses and waste wood instead of main crops. Funded by COFCO, the Danish biotech company Novozymes and Sinopec, China’s largest cellulosic ethanol factory will go into production in September in Heilongjiang province. Its production target is 10,000 tons of fuel ethanol a year. China is the third-largest fuel ethanol market in the world, following Brazil and the United States. According to COFCO, its bio-ethanol production will reach 10 million tons a year by 2020, permitting a 10% drop in oil imports, the China Daily reports.
- KURT VANDEPUTTE (UMICORE) APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE FLANDERS-CHINA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (FCCC)
- Webinar: “Knowing Your Chinese Partner” – May 26, 2021, 10 am – 12 am
- EMA starts rolling review of CoronaVac, WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use
- The Global Times warns not to politicize the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)
- Hainan to become biggest duty-free market in the world