The world’s largest production facility to make cellulosic bioethanol – a type of biofuel made from wood and plants – will be built in China next year, the company in charge of the project has said.
Chemtex Engineering Co Ltd will build the plant in Fuyang, Anhui province. The company already owns a major bio-refinery in Italy, but the Fuyang plant will be bigger.
“Our parent company, the Italian chemistry company Mossi Ghisolfi Group, and Danish biochemical company Novozymes are expected to invest about $500 million to build the factory, which will process 1 million metric tons of biomass every year,” Sean Ma, Chemtex’s president and CEO, told China Daily.
The factory, which will have about four times the capacity of the facility in Crescentino, Italy, will produce two kinds of biofuel: fuel ethanol and mono-ethylene glycol.
Fuel ethanol is a gasoline additive. Adding bioethanol to gasoline is a common practice in many countries, including the United States and Brazil, to cut carbon emissions.
The Chinese bio-refinery will also produce mono-ethylene glycol, a main component of the plastic used for packaging.
Beta Renewables – the joint venture between the Mossi Ghisolfi Group and Novozymes – opened the first plant of its kind in northern Italy in October.
“We’ll continue to commercially expand Beta Renewables’ core technology throughout the world, and we’re very confident at this stage given the demand we see around the globe,” said Guido Ghisolfi, Beta Renewables’ chairman and CEO.
Source: China Daily
