China to double biodiesel output by 2010

13 November 2007 10:26  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--China plans to double its biodiesel production to 200,000 tonnes by 2010, using non-grain crop and recycled waste oil as feedstock, an industry official said on Tuesday.

 

The country produces 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel but by 2020, this amount will be raised to 2m tonnes, Zeng Shao-jun, general secretary of the China New Energy Chamber  of Commerce said.

 

Zeng was speaking at a two-day biodiesel forum here that ends on Wednesday.

 

China is looking at using non-grain crops such as jatropha curcas and tallow tree, as well as waste oil as feedstock for biodiesel, he said.

 

The country also plans to raise the amount of fuel ethanol produced by 2m tonnes in 2010 and by 10m tonnes in 2020.

 

Zeng, however, was unable to confirm how much fuel ethanol the country was currently producing.

 

However, the development of biodiesel in the country is hampered by issues such as the high cost of raw material and technology problems.

 

For instance, using non-grain crop as feedstock costs higher than recycled waste oil, but it is also harder to assure the quality of biodiesel derived from waste oil, he said.

 

Presently, there is also a lack of uniform standards in biodiesel production and this has made it more difficult to ensure the quality of biofuel in the country, he added.

 

China needs a large amount of capital investment in biodiesel production, particularly in the area of research and development, but financing of such projects at the moment is low, said Zeng.

 

The government, however, is constructing public policies to address these issues.

 

According to the latest five-year plan, it will examine the industry structure and construct development objectives for the biodiesel industry, said Zeng.

 

China will develop the bio-gasoline industry in its next five-year plan, he said.

 

This includes regulating the market as soon as possible, he added.

By: Jeanne Lim
+65 6780 4359

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