April 2, 2008

China expands ethanol gasoline use in tenth province

China has lately intensified its use of ethanol gasoline, as 14 cities in southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region began to sell the product yesterday, making it China's 10th province to adopt bioenergy.

Around 350,000 vehicles and more than 3 million motorcycles tested the ethanol biofuel, said Fu Jian, head of Guangxi's transportation department.

The energy reform in Guangxi is part of the country's thrust for energy replacement strategy, the Xinhua news agency said.

China has launched biofuel campaigns in the provinces of Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Henan and Anhui as well as part of the provinces of Hubei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei.

The country needed to tap on ethanol as the auto market created a strong demand for gasoline.

Last year, China imported 160 million tonnes of petrol, up 12 percent from a year before, accounting for 46 percent of the total usage.

Gas emission has become a major problem in big cities around China.

Compared with gas, ethanol is recyclable and has fewer emissions.

Corn-based ethanol gasoline began to be used to fill vehicles in Jilin and Henan in 2001.

By 2010, China is projected to use 30.2 million tonnes of ethanol gasoline annually.