China to Approve Methanol Fuel Blends in 1H 2008

8 December 2007

Xinhua. China is developing and will approve two methanol blend standards for automobile fuel next year, according to Chen Weiguo, secretary-general of the China Association of Alcohol and Ether Clean Fuels and Automobiles.

A standard for methanol blends of more than 85% will be approved in the first half of 2008. A standard for blends of less than 15% will be completed in the first quarter, and then sent to the Standardization Administration for approval.

“The standards will surely facilitate supervision over the current methanol market, and will define the way of methanol development in the future,” said Rong Junfeng, a senior official with the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation.

Methanol, which can be derived from coal, coal bed methane and coke oven gas, has a wide range of resources in China, as more than 80 percent of the country’s energy resources rely on the coal.

In October, China’s Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. unveiled prototype methanol-fueled cars at their research base in northern China’s Shanxi Province. (Earlier post.) Shanghai Maple reportedly plans to make 50,000 methanol cars next year.