Commercial Production of Cellulosic Biofuel on Fast Track in China     

On May 28th, Novozymes, the world's leader in bioinnovation, COFCO, China's leading producer and supplier of processed agricultural products, and also nation's biofuel supplier, and Sinopec Group, the world's third-largest oil refinery, signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering the next steps towards commercialization of cellulosic biofuel in China.
   As part of the agreement, COFCO and Sinopec will build a cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant which Novozymes will supply with enzymes.
   The construction will begin in the third quarter of 2011 and the new plant will produce 3 million gallons of bioethanol made from corn stover a year. In February, Novozymes launched new Cellic R CTec2, an enzyme product enabling the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at a price competitive with gasoline and conventional ethanol.
   The new plant will be the largest, demonstration facility converting agricultural waste into biofuel in China. The new demonstration plant will be based upon engineering optimization results from COFCO pilot plant in Zhaodong, Heilongjiang province, which is running since 2006.
   China has an adequate supply of biomass, and agricultural residues alone exceed 700 million tons annually. A 2009 study by Novozymes and McKinsey showed that by converting agricultural residues into fuel ethanol, China can reduce its gasoline consumption by 31 million tons in 2020, thereby reducing its dependence on imported petroleum by 10% and abating 90 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
   By 2020, the number of cars in China is expected to exceed 200 million, up from 130 million today, which will lead to substantial growth in the demand for vehicle fuels. To meet these rising demands the Chinese government has launched an ambitious bioenergy development target that will boost the production of cellulosic biofuels.