BIZCHINA / Center
Crop bases to feed biofuel production
By Wu Jiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-04 11:15
The government is to develop a number of new crop bases by 2010 to
provide sufficient biomass resources to meet the country's growing demand
for ethanol, the Ministry of Agriculture has said.
According to its Agricultural Biofuel Industry Plan, released yesterday,
the bases will mostly grow sugarcane, sweet sorghum, cassava and rape for
use in the production of both ethanol and biodiesel.
The plan rules out the expansion of grain-based ethanol production,
specifically corn and potato-based, to avoid any detrimental impact on
the food sector.
According to the plan: "The total production of biomass energy from
non-grain crops will grow to 500 million tons of coal equivalent, worth
some 3 trillion yuan, which will account for 24 percent of the nation's
total energy consumption."
Of all the non-grain ethanol resources, sweet sorghum is a favorite among
agricultural experts due to its low cost and the fact it can be grown on
non-arable land. Under the plan, a total of 3.8 million tons of ethanol
will be produced annually from the stalks of the sweet sorghum.
Related readings:
Ban on use of corn for ethanol lauded Crops new source for ethanol
China ponders banning food in ethanol fuel production
Biofuel 'not at expense' of foodgrains: MOA
The plan proposes to integrate sweet-sorghum-based ethanol products into
the current oil sales system, a privilege so far reserved for grain-based
ethanol products.
Nine provinces - Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan,
Anhui, Hubei and Hebei - currently have gas stations that offer fuel
mixed with 10 percent ethanol. The number of provinces is expected to
grow this year as ethanol output is increased.
The country's four existing State-approved ethanol plants, which produce
some 1.2 million tons per year, are located in the corn and maize
production centers of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Anhui and Henan.
Like the many unlicensed producers, the plants mostly use corn.
However, the rapid expansion of corn-based production has had a huge
impact on corn prices and last year spurred fears of possible food
shortages.
"The new investment is likely to be in plants that produce ethanol
without competing with grain supplies or taking up arable land," Zhou
Dadi, former director of the energy research institute of the National
Development and Reform Commission, said.
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