Escalating oil prices in 2004-2005 have exerted an upward pressure on prices of petrochemical feedstocks. The pace of growth of China's booming economy faced setbacks on account of these high prices. China, consuming 20 million tpa of ethylene - the basic material for the chemical, electronic, automobile and textile industries, seems to have invented an alternative.
10 years' research and development in China will successfully replace petroleum and coal with biological energy - an unavoidable trend to fulfilled by the Fengyuan Group, a leading fine-chemical producer based in Suzhou. Fenyuan has revealed a new process to produce ethylene from old corn stock instead of the traditional petroleum. It has been found that tuber crop and crop stalks can also be used for materials to produce ethylene. The annual capacity of its first ethylene production line operating in east China is 20,000 tons. The group's new production line will be profitable as long as the oil price remains above US$35 a barrel.
The production that followed 10 years' research and development adopts a new technology includes two major steps: fermentation and extraction. Operation of this new technology in China can help boost research and application of bio-energy technologies.
Will this affect demand for traditional feedstock for ethylene production?
07-May-05 
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