Chinese top official dismisses coal-to-liquids as irresponsible and inefficient
Quicknote climate change
China is massively investing in coal infrastructures to meet its insatiable demand for energy. Eighty per cent of the country's electricity already comes from coal, and there are plans for 544 new coal-fired power stations. This makes China the future nightmare of all governments who take dangerous climate change serious. In an even worse development, the rising giant has also been investing in coal-to-liquids (CTL) facilities, aimed at producing synthetic diesel to be used for transport. South-Africa's Sasol, a pioneer in coal-to-liquids technolgy, has partnered with Chinese companies on a CTL project, as has Shell.
Current CTL technologies are derivatives of the original Fischer-Tropsch process created by two German coal researchers in the 1920s. In the basic process, the producer gasifies the coal to create a synthetic gas, which then is treated to create a variety of liquid fuels and chemicals.
For the first time, a Chinese top official is now publicly dismissing these CTL investments as irresponsible and inefficient. Half of China's cars will use cleaner fuels instead, such as energy-efficient gas and biofuels by 2025, he said. Feng Fei, director of the industrial economics research department with the Development Research Center of China's State Council - the comprehensive policy research and consulting institution operating directly under the central government of the People's Republic of China - told an audience of energy experts at a seminar that "biofuels and hydrogen are the ultimate substitutes for fossil fuels" (more about China's ambitious biofuels program, here). According to Fei, oil made from coal, which is extremely resource intensive, must be dismissed: "The biggest problems of turning coal into oil are its low energy efficiency and high emission of carbon dioxide in the production process."
Three to five tons of high-quality coal is needed to produce a ton of diesel, bringing the whole energy consumption to two to three times that of gasoline-driven cars, while the burning of the fuel emits 50 to 100 percent more carbon dioxide than that of gasoline.
With a larger reserve of coal than oil, China can make oil from coal as part of the country's strategic reserves, but large scale of production runs against China's goals to improve the efficiency of energy use and to cut pollution, said Feng.
China has ascertained oil reserves of 24.8 billion tons and coal reserves of more than one trillion tons. China is estimated to need 450 million tons of petroleum a year by 2020, with more than half to be imported [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: coal-to-liquids :: climate change :: China ::
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China is massively investing in coal infrastructures to meet its insatiable demand for energy. Eighty per cent of the country's electricity already comes from coal, and there are plans for 544 new coal-fired power stations. This makes China the future nightmare of all governments who take dangerous climate change serious. In an even worse development, the rising giant has also been investing in coal-to-liquids (CTL) facilities, aimed at producing synthetic diesel to be used for transport. South-Africa's Sasol, a pioneer in coal-to-liquids technolgy, has partnered with Chinese companies on a CTL project, as has Shell.
Current CTL technologies are derivatives of the original Fischer-Tropsch process created by two German coal researchers in the 1920s. In the basic process, the producer gasifies the coal to create a synthetic gas, which then is treated to create a variety of liquid fuels and chemicals.
For the first time, a Chinese top official is now publicly dismissing these CTL investments as irresponsible and inefficient. Half of China's cars will use cleaner fuels instead, such as energy-efficient gas and biofuels by 2025, he said. Feng Fei, director of the industrial economics research department with the Development Research Center of China's State Council - the comprehensive policy research and consulting institution operating directly under the central government of the People's Republic of China - told an audience of energy experts at a seminar that "biofuels and hydrogen are the ultimate substitutes for fossil fuels" (more about China's ambitious biofuels program, here). According to Fei, oil made from coal, which is extremely resource intensive, must be dismissed: "The biggest problems of turning coal into oil are its low energy efficiency and high emission of carbon dioxide in the production process."
Three to five tons of high-quality coal is needed to produce a ton of diesel, bringing the whole energy consumption to two to three times that of gasoline-driven cars, while the burning of the fuel emits 50 to 100 percent more carbon dioxide than that of gasoline.
With a larger reserve of coal than oil, China can make oil from coal as part of the country's strategic reserves, but large scale of production runs against China's goals to improve the efficiency of energy use and to cut pollution, said Feng.
China has ascertained oil reserves of 24.8 billion tons and coal reserves of more than one trillion tons. China is estimated to need 450 million tons of petroleum a year by 2020, with more than half to be imported [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: coal-to-liquids :: climate change :: China ::
Article continues
Friday, October 27, 2006
Market for palm oil set to explode on biofuels growth
Palm oil may rise to as high as 2,075 ringgit (€446/US$565) a tonne between April and June next year on the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange, Hamburg-based economist Mielke said. The contract averaged 1,568 ringgit (€337/US$429) last quarter.
Rising demand in Europe for regular diesel blended with vegetable oil amid high crude oil prices may drive palm oil’s gains. "The market for palm oil will explode" should the pace of growth in biodiesel demand be maintained, Mielke said at a renewable energy conference in Beijing. Demand for vegetable oil, including palm oil, may outstrip supply by as much as 5 million tonne, he said. Palm oil futures for January 2007 delivery, the most actively traded contract on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, rose 27 ringgits, or 1.7%, to close at 1,650 ringgit, the highest one-day rise since August 9. New demand is coming from rising superpowers like China and India, who are looking for alternatives to petroleum:
biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: palm oil :: Malaysia :: Indonesia ::
The futures may climb as high as 1,800 ringgit by September, Dorab E. Mistry, a director at Godrej International Ltd, one of biggest domestic traders of edible oil, said in Mumbai last month. He cited mandatory blending regulations being implemented in most countries in the European Union (EU).
The EU wants every tank of fuel to consist of 5.75% biofuels by 2010. High crude prices and pollution concern are prompting governments to seek alternative fuels such as ethanol made from corn and sugar, and biodiesel from canola and palm oil.
Increased imports of vegetable oils by the EU, China and India have more than offset any rising production from Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina, the three main exporters. Any production cuts may drive prices to 1,800 ringgit in the short-term, Mielke said.
Economic expansion in China and India, the world’s biggest buyers of palm and soybean oils, is increasing consumption of fried foods as incomes rise. India may import 6 mt of cooking oils in the year to October 2007, up 20% from an estimated 5 mt this year, as dry weather cut output of oilseeds such as peanuts and soybean.
Palm oil prices may reach 1,700 ringgit in four to five months on higher demand from the EU and non-traditional buyers such as Egypt. Palm oil stocks in Malaysia may fall to 1.65 mt by October 31 and 1.55 mt by November 30, compared with 1.79 mt on September 30, M Somasekhar, an analyst at TransGraph Consulting in Hyderabad, said by phone.
Still, Indonesian trade minister Mari Elka Pangestu said September 18 that prices, which have gained 15% this year, had peaked and were likely to remain steady. "While we are bullish on palm oil this year and next, a wildcard remains as to how fast biodiesel output will grow," said Steven Zhou, GM of Shanghai Pansun Cereals & Oils Development Ltd. The capacity and timing of Malaysia’s plan to expand biodiesel output are still unclear, he said.
The Malaysian government has issued 52 licences to companies to make biofuels. Still, Malaysia’s Chin said September 5 that he may revoke some of them as the holders aren’t committed to the business.
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