BEIJING: China is set to start production of the world’s largest coal-to-ethanol plant in September, which will be capable of producing over half a million metric tons of the key industrial ingredient each year, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Experts said the feat will cement China as a global front-runner in converting coal into pure ethanol, and it holds great significance in safeguarding China’s food and energy security since it can turn low-quality coal into highly versatile chemical products without using grain or sugar cane.
The process used at the plant, which is located in Yulin, Shaanxi province, has been jointly developed by the academy’s Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group. Once in full operation, the plant will be able to convert over 1.5 million tons of coal into ethanol and other chemical products each year, potentially saving 1.5 million tons of grain if it were used to make ethanol.
“Ethanol is a chemical product with major strategic importance given its wide use in industries such as energy and health, as well as in our daily life,” said Liu Zhongmin, director of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
