September 12, 2006

China's Fukang Ethanol increases corn processing capacity

China's Fukang Ethanol Corp. has raised the corn processing capacity of its Jilin plant to 630,000 tonnes a year, in turn boosting its ethanol output capacity, a company official said Tuesday (Sep 12).

With the expansion, which took place this year, Fukang Ethanol can now produce more than 200,000 tonnes a year of ethanol, Xiong Bingfu, an official at Fukang Ethanol, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Its annual ethanol output capacity reached 170,000 tonnes by the end of 2005, with an initial investment of RMB 210 million (RMB 26.4 million). Following an additional investment of RMB263 million (RMB 3 million), Fukang Ethanol exceeded the 200,000-tonne mark this year, according to Xiong.

Founded in 2000, the privately run Fukang Ethanol is China's largest edible ethanol producer, and uses corn as its raw material. The Jilin plant is its sole corn processing plant.

Jilin, the largest corn-growing region in China, produced around 19 million tonnes of the grain in 2005.

Ethanol can be produced by the fermentation of grains, and is used in the making of alcoholic beverages and medical products.