China's Guangxi starts using bio-ethanol fuel

Apr. 3, 2008 (China Knowledge) - China has successfully replaced the gasoline and diesel oil with bio-ethanol fuel on Tuesday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the 10th locality in the country of such move.

Petrol stations in all the 14 cities of Guangxi started to sell bio-ethanol duel on Tuesday and in two weeks, traditional petrol and diesel oil will be phased out, according to Fu Jian, an official in charge of transport with the regional government.

Guangxi is the first Chinese locality to use cassava instead of grain to produce ethanol. Guangxi's output of cassava accounted for more than 60% of the country's total, with 7.8 million tons a year. China has forbidden using grain for ethanol production last year to guarantee the supply of food.

Now, nine other Chinese provinces are using ethanol fuel, including Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces in the northeast, Henan and Hebei provinces in the north, Anhui, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces in the east and the central Hubei Province.

Ethanol fuel will help the country ease the short energy supply, and decrease the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions by about 30% and 10% respectively.