We have covered China's interest in biofuels quite a number of times. What we didn't have until now were some clear figures on how the ethanol market is developing in the world's most populated country. Since 2004, fuel ethanol production has increased from 0.3 metric tons to 1.5 metric tons in 2007 and the Chinese fuel ethanol market is expected to double in the next few years. However, China is facing a serious problem: the lack of available land, especially when most of the ethanol is made from grains. Like so many other nations, China hopes to shift production of fuel ethanol away from grains to other feedstocks such as sweet potato, cassava, and sorghum. One of the country's major ethanol producers, Henan Tianguan Enterprise Group Co. Ltd., reportedly uses a mix of 60 percent wheat, 20 percent corn, 10 percent cassava, and 10 percent sweet potato to produce ethanol.

[Source: Cattle Network]

As we wrote recently, the Guanxi province in the south of China is using its main agricultural product, cassava, to produce ethanol. This tuberous root can be grown in dry land which, according to Xinhua's official news agency, allows biofuel production without competing with food resources. Local drivers will be able to use the biofuel soon: pumps in Guanxi's 14 cities will distribute ethanol exclusively in two weeks time.

Besides cassava, China is working on producing ethanol from other sources such as sweet potatoes, sorghum and straw and the country is quite desperate to reduce its foreign oil dependence. Oil imports in China were up 12 percent in 2007 so the country is aiming to make 10 percent of its energy sources renewable.

[Source: Econoticias]

A company based in Wisconsin called ENCAP has attracted some attention from investors when they recently found an agricultural product with which they can produce using the byproducts from the creation of biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. In fact, they can use "almost any inert material, including byproducts of the sugar cane process, or dried distillers grains from the corn ethanol process", according to Michael Krysiak, president of ENCAP in an interview performed by Inside Greentech. They have begun building a test plant in Cali, Columbia to start "transforming waste from sugar, corn, rice, cassava, bio-diesel, and other starch-based plants into marketable products."

Sounds like an interesting cycle could take place... using the waste from the biofuel processes to re-grow more crops. This, however, does not solve the problem of using a foodstock as a fuel source. There are many, Fidel Castro for instance, who think that we should not use any foodstocks for fuel. I am not sure yet what the answer is to that one. Solar and wind power for our electric cars perhaps?

[Source: Inside Greentech]