Guangxi to blend 10% ethanol into gasoline in December
China's southern region of Guangxi will start blending 10 percent ethanol into gasoline for cars in December, adding to the nine other provinces in the country using the biofuel. An official at the Guangxi Development and Reform Commission said it was preparing to start using fuel ethanol as a new biofuel plant would come on stream.
China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd, a listed arm of state-owned agricultural group COFCO, is building the plant, which can manufacture up to 200,000 tonnes of fuel ethanol a year from cassava.
China, the third-largest ethanol producer after Brazil and the United States, plans to blend 2 million tonnes of ethanol into gasoline by 2010, up from 1.02 million tonnes currently. By 2020, it wants to achieve an output of 10 million tonnes. China is promoting biofuels to cut its reliance on very costly imported oil. The commitment to use more biofuels was reiterated recently, when the People's Republic unveiled a $265 billion renewable energy plan, which aims to generate 15% of the nation's energy from renewables by 2020 (more here).
The Guangxi plant will be the first major fuel ethanol producer using cassava, the starch-rich root crop used mainly for industrial products. A recent study shows cassava-based ethanol has a strong energy balance and is thus an efficient biofuel (previous post).
Four other plants in Guangxi currently use corn or wheat, but Beijing is set to phase out these feedstocks and instead plans to use non-food biomass sources. Cassava is considered one of those, alongside sweet potato and sorghum (previous post). However, traders and industry officials said the COFCO plant in Guangxi might squeeze local cassava supplies, raising the country's need for imports of the crop from Vietnam and Thailand, the world's major exporters.
This in itself needn't be problematic, because regardless of the origin of the feedstock, cassava ethanol can be produced profitably when oil prices are above US$40. Transportation costs of cassava chips from nearby Thailand or Vietnam are marginal:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: cassava :: Guangxi :: China ::
Local experts estimate that the Guangxi plant alone would need to import at least 300,000 tonnes of cassava chips per year if it was to operate at full capacity. According to one executive from a plant in Guangxi manufacturing food-grade ethanol, the Guanxi plant can cover only a third of it needs locally.
Guangxi, the country's top cassava grower, can grow cassava only three months between November and January. The crop has to compete with sugar cane over land in the region, also the country's top sugar-producing area.
However, there is vast room for expansion of the crop in South East Asia. In the future, China might simply start importing cassava from these regions. Alternative, it could locate ethanol plants right at the source, there where cassava production takes place. Several Chinese companies are already doing this.
Image: new high-yielding cassava varieties successfully bred by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (South China University of Tropical Agriculture) are being grown by farmers in Guangxi. Credit: CATAS/SCUTA.
References:
Reuters: China's Guangxi to fill cars with ethanol in Dec - September 19, 2007.
Biopact: First comprehensive energy balance study reveals cassava is a highly efficient biofuel feedstock - April 18, 2007
Biopact: China unveils $265 billion renewable energy plan, aims for 15% renewables by 2020 - September 06, 2007
Biopact: China mulls switch to non-food crops for ethanol - June 11, 2007
China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd, a listed arm of state-owned agricultural group COFCO, is building the plant, which can manufacture up to 200,000 tonnes of fuel ethanol a year from cassava.
China, the third-largest ethanol producer after Brazil and the United States, plans to blend 2 million tonnes of ethanol into gasoline by 2010, up from 1.02 million tonnes currently. By 2020, it wants to achieve an output of 10 million tonnes. China is promoting biofuels to cut its reliance on very costly imported oil. The commitment to use more biofuels was reiterated recently, when the People's Republic unveiled a $265 billion renewable energy plan, which aims to generate 15% of the nation's energy from renewables by 2020 (more here).
The Guangxi plant will be the first major fuel ethanol producer using cassava, the starch-rich root crop used mainly for industrial products. A recent study shows cassava-based ethanol has a strong energy balance and is thus an efficient biofuel (previous post).
Four other plants in Guangxi currently use corn or wheat, but Beijing is set to phase out these feedstocks and instead plans to use non-food biomass sources. Cassava is considered one of those, alongside sweet potato and sorghum (previous post). However, traders and industry officials said the COFCO plant in Guangxi might squeeze local cassava supplies, raising the country's need for imports of the crop from Vietnam and Thailand, the world's major exporters.
This in itself needn't be problematic, because regardless of the origin of the feedstock, cassava ethanol can be produced profitably when oil prices are above US$40. Transportation costs of cassava chips from nearby Thailand or Vietnam are marginal:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: cassava :: Guangxi :: China ::
Local experts estimate that the Guangxi plant alone would need to import at least 300,000 tonnes of cassava chips per year if it was to operate at full capacity. According to one executive from a plant in Guangxi manufacturing food-grade ethanol, the Guanxi plant can cover only a third of it needs locally.
Guangxi, the country's top cassava grower, can grow cassava only three months between November and January. The crop has to compete with sugar cane over land in the region, also the country's top sugar-producing area.
However, there is vast room for expansion of the crop in South East Asia. In the future, China might simply start importing cassava from these regions. Alternative, it could locate ethanol plants right at the source, there where cassava production takes place. Several Chinese companies are already doing this.
Image: new high-yielding cassava varieties successfully bred by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (South China University of Tropical Agriculture) are being grown by farmers in Guangxi. Credit: CATAS/SCUTA.
References:
Reuters: China's Guangxi to fill cars with ethanol in Dec - September 19, 2007.
Biopact: First comprehensive energy balance study reveals cassava is a highly efficient biofuel feedstock - April 18, 2007
Biopact: China unveils $265 billion renewable energy plan, aims for 15% renewables by 2020 - September 06, 2007
Biopact: China mulls switch to non-food crops for ethanol - June 11, 2007
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