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US chemicals firm aims to satisfy demand for fuel
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Celanese Corp, a specialty chemicals maker which processes coal and natural gas into ethanol, says it expects its proprietary technology to help China meet an increasing demand for fuel.
China is encouraging the use of biofuels to fight pollution but the government has, so far, only approved five fuel ethanol projects with subsidies because of worries over arable land and food scarcity.
Celanese said its TCX technology could provide a non-grain route for China, which has abundant coal deposits. If ethanol is blended into gasoline at the 10 percent level nationwide and China has no more fuel ethanol plants in addition to the existing five, the country would face a fuel ethanol shortage of 11 million tons by 2020, the US company estimated.
The five plants’ combined annual capacity is about 2 million tons.
“The increasing market will support an increase in fuel ethanol capacity. Celanese is optimistic about that and is very excited to participate in the development,” said Peter Broussard, vice president for business strategy and development in Asia.
In 2011, Celanese said it planned to build one or two coal-to-ethanol plants in China, each with annual capacity of 400,000 tons, to supply ethanol for industrial chemical production. But the projects have yet to receive government approval.
In the middle of this year, the company commissioned an industrial ethanol facility producing 275,000 tons a year at its complex in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province based on the TCX technology.
Company officials said only small modifications are needed for the plant to supply fuel ethanol.
To seek further opportunities in China, Celanese in August signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the development of synthetic fuel ethanol with PetroChina Co, the country’s largest oil and gas producer. The two companies agreed to jointly develop synthetic fuel ethanol opportunities utilizing TCX technology.
TCX is also not commercialized in the US, where corn is the main feedstock used to make ethanol. The Obama administration has also proposed slashing federal requirements for US biofuel use in 2014, bowing to pressure from the petroleum industry.
“Celanese favors a level playing field for raw materials, process and markets. Subsidies and mandates may distort market dynamics,” Broussard said.
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