A new technology, which extracts diesel oil from used or waste
edible vegetable and animal oil, could potentially help to ease
China's oil supply worries.
The resultant biodiesel, Fatty Acid Methyl Ester or FAME, is
touted as a clean fuel because it burns completely, thereby
reducing the emission of particulates, carbon monoxide and nitrogen
oxide. According to a technical appraisal by Shanghai
Internal-Combustion Engine Research Center, this oil contains only
one-tenth the amount of sulfur found in fossil diesel, and it
contains neither aromatic hydrocarbon nor heavy metals.
Further, it has a higher cetane number and flash point than
regular diesel, which makes it a much more efficient fuel.
According to statistics, China's dependence on oil imports had
increased to 57 percent by 2005. It is projected that consumption
will reach 400 million tons by 2010, but domestic output will
continue to hover around 160 and 170 million tons.
"More than 26 million tons of used oil is produced by the
catering trade. And about 80-90 million tons of used cottonseed
oil, rapeseed oil and lard cannot be sold on the market, which
means there are about 100 million tons of waste vegetable oil or
animal fat?that could be used to produce more than 80 million
tons of biodiesel," according to Ye Yongcheng, director of the
energy department of the Economy and Trade Commission of
Fujian Province.
It's a low-cost oil with a bright future, insiders observe. Used
edible oil sells for about 2,300 yuan (US$286) per ton. Refining
brings the cost up to 3,600 yuan (US$448) per ton. Despite this,
the final sale price of biodiesel is 4,400 yuan (US$547) per ton,
more than 1,000 yuan (US$124) less than fossil diesel.
As promising as it sounds, the industry needs to be developed
and policies regulating it need to be implemented.
For instance, there is currently no effective system of
management or supervision of oil collection. In Europe and the US,
used oil is collected as a matter of course by designated companies
and processed as a raw material before it is refined into
biodiesel. Some European companies use vegetable oil and animal fat
directly. But this drives costs up as compared to using waste
oil.?
Industry players have also called for favorable tax policies for
emerging recycling energy technologies. "At present, most of the
biodiesel producers are small companies that don't have the capital
to engage in large-scale production because of the high taxes,
which also discourage investment," said Ye Huodong, CEO of Fujian
Longyan Zhuoyue New Energy
Development Co Ltd, a biodiesel manufacturer.
(China.org.cn by Li Shen, March 10, 2006)